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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7c5c577 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #60091 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60091) diff --git a/old/60091-0.txt b/old/60091-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0c5c395..0000000 --- a/old/60091-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4127 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Brief History of the Worshipful Company of -Ironmongers, by T. C. (Theophilus Charles) Noble, Illustrated by George -Cruikshank - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: A Brief History of the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers - London A.D. 1351-1889, with an Appendix Containing Some Account of the Blacksmiths' Company - - -Author: T. C. (Theophilus Charles) Noble - - - -Release Date: August 12, 2019 [eBook #60091] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WORSHIPFUL -COMPANY OF IRONMONGERS*** - - -E-text prepared by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team -(http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by -Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 60091-h.htm or 60091-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/60091/60091-h/60091-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/60091/60091-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofwo00nobl - - -Transcriber's note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=). - - - - - -A BRIEF HISTORY -OF -THE WORSHIPFUL -COMPANY OF IRONMONGERS - - - * * * * * * - - THE - WORSHIPFUL COMPANY of IRONMONGERS, - MARCH, 1889. - - HENRY MAUDSLAY, Esq., _Master_. - EDWARD HADHAM NICHOLL, Esq., _Senior Warden_. - JAMES LANGTON, Esq., _Junior Warden_. - - (Who, with 44 others, form the Livery and Court.) - - T. C. NOBLE, _Warden of the Yeomanry_. - - (Who, with 260 others, constitutes the remaining Freemen - or Yeomanry.) - - R. C. ADAMS BECK, Esq., _Clerk_. - Rev. R. M. BAKER, _Chaplain_. - Mr. R. ROBERTS, _Surveyor_. - Mr. C. W. McCONACHY, _Beadle_. - - (With other Officers.) - - * * * * * * - -_The following separately-printed Works (among others) by T. C. NOBLE may -be consulted in the British Museum or Guildhall Library_:— - - =The Lord Mayor of London.= 1860. - - =Memorials of Temple Bar, with Some Account of Fleet Street.= - 1869. - - =A Ramble Round the Crystal Palace.= 1875. - - =A Brief Account of the Westminster Tobacco-box.= 1879. - - =A Caxton Memorial.= 1880. - - =A Brief Memorial of W. F. Bray.= 1880. - - =Biographical Notices of Thomas Wood, D.D., Bishop of - Lichfield.= 1882. - - =An Historical Essay on the Rise and Fall of the Spanish - Armada, 1588.= 1886. - - * * * * * * - - -[Illustration: ARMS OF THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF IRONMONGERS. - -(See page 14.)] - - -A BRIEF HISTORY -OF -THE WORSHIPFUL -COMPANY OF IRONMONGERS - -LONDON -A.D. 1351-1889 - -With an Appendix Containing Some Account of -the Blacksmiths’ Company - -by - -T. C. NOBLE - -Warden of the Yeomanry of the Ironmongers’ Company -1888-1889 - -_With Numerous Illustrations by George Cruikshank -and Others_ - - - - - - -London -Printed for Private Circulation Only -March 1889 - -Printed by -Spottiswoode and Co., New-Street Square -London - - - - -PREFACE. - - -To my brother Ironmongers, “root and branch,” I dedicate this “brief -history” of our ancient Guild. Notwithstanding the innumerable facts -printed in the following pages, the work must only be considered as an -historical essay upon the tenth of the twelve “great” Livery Companies -of the City of London. A more elaborate compilation is in progress, and -if my life is spared to complete it that work will contain the labour of -love collections during the past quarter of a century of an extensive—I -may say unique—assortment of manuscripts and other papers relating to the -City, its Companies, and its Institutions, which will prove, I have every -reason to believe, a most interesting and valuable civic record. - -The present publication has taken place now for several reasons, some of -which I may as well explain. Before J. P. Malcolm printed the interesting -extracts from the Ironmongers’ records in the second volume of his -“Londinium Redivivum,” 1803, very little was known by the general public -about this ancient City Guild. He was followed by William Herbert, the -Guildhall Librarian, in 1834-36, who published a “History of the Twelve -Great Livery Companies,” with a most valuable introductory essay. Both of -these works are now scarce. In 1851 John Nicholl, Esq, F.S.A., a Member -of the Court of the Ironmongers’ Company, compiled his “Some Account” -of the Guild, taken from their own records, and this choice volume he -enlarged and printed in 1866. There were, however, only 150 copies -circulated among the Livery and their friends, consequently this history -is more scarce than those issued by Malcolm and Herbert. - -When I was elected Yeomanry Warden at Easter, 1888, in commemoration -of the fact that I was one of the Committee of the Spanish Armada -Tercentenary (Plymouth and London) Commemoration, about which Armada I -had published an essay in 1886, and that the Ironmongers’ Company had -contributed towards the defence of the kingdom exactly three centuries -previous; that the year 1889 was by a curious coincidence the 700th -anniversary of the City Mayoralty; that several eminent Lord Mayors had -been citizens and Ironmongers; that from my own personal knowledge a -large percentage of the present members of the Yeomanry know very little -of the history of their Guild, or about their ancient predecessors; and -last, but not least, that the facilities afforded to me by the Editor -of the well-known trade journal, THE IRONMONGER, for the publication -in its columns during the past three months of this “brief history,” -which has had a circulation not second to any other weekly throughout -the world, prompted me to forward a long-cherished project of compiling -for my brethren a short history, and thus commemorate their kindness for -electing me their representative. The unexpected opportunity of holding -a most enthusiastic meeting on St. Luke’s Day, 1888, at the London -Tavern, opposite Ironmongers’ Hall (our Hall being temporarily closed), -enabled me, as their Warden, to give to my brother Ironmongers the first -historical discourse relating to the Company (see Chapter VI.), and it -helped to comfort their disappointment in being unable to meet in their -own Hall upon the anniversary of the day they had assembled therein for -nearly three hundred years. - -Then, again, there are some personal reasons worth mentioning. A -citizen born, the great-grandson of an eighteenth-century engineer and -ironfounder, the grandson of a ship-owner, newspaper proprietor, and -possessor of the historical property in the district which he named -King’s Cross, and where to this day several of the great “iron roads” -of England meet, and the son of a publisher and bookseller of Fleet -Street, whose memory and that of my birthplace I commemorated in 1869 -in the “Memorials” of the neighbourhood—in which year, too, by another -remarkable coincidence, I was honoured by being admitted a member of the -Ironmongers’ Company without the payment of fees—an honour only conferred -on those who perform their duty to their fellow-citizens. - -When the then member for Cork City asked Parliament twenty years ago -to seize the estates of the Companies in Ireland, I was fortunately -enabled by my knowledge of the subject to assist in the defeat of this -wild, revolutionary scheme of seizing property personally paid for by -the ancestors of the citizens of London. It was the Hon. the Irish -Society and the Companies who voted me their thanks, and it was my two -ever-revered friends, John Nicholl, our historian, and S. Adams Beck, -our then clerk (the father of our present zealous official)—the memory -of whom will long remain dear, for their portraits hang side by side in -our Court-room—it was their kind notice of my humble efforts, and their -repeated good advice, which helped me to the honour I so highly valued, -and led me to be ever watchful of our rights and privileges. - -Thirty years ago my said dear friend John Nicholl was Master of the -Company (he died in 1871), and this year his son is our Senior Warden, -and (I trust) our next Master. We wish him every best wish, we heartily -pray that the Almighty will bless us all, and that “the Worshipful -Company of Ironmongers, root and branch,” may be permitted to “flourish -for ever.” - - Dalston, London, March, 1889. - - T. C. NOBLE, - Warden of the Yeomanry, - 1888-1889. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I.—The Old City, its Citizens and Guilds 1 - - II.—Iron, Ironworks, and Ironmongers 6 - - III.—The Worshipful Company of Ironmongers 11 - - IV., V., VI.—Four Hundred Years of the Ironmongers’ History 19-40 - - VII.—The Apprentices, the Hall, and the Irish Estate 41 - - VIII.—The Ironmongers’ Charities and Charitable Ironmongers 51 - - APPENDIX. - - Some Account of the Blacksmiths’ Company and their - Exhibition at Ironmongers’ Hall 61-74 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - PLATE PAGE - - I.—_Frontispiece_: Arms of the Ironmongers’ Company - - II.—(_a_) The Old Church of Allhallows Staining, Mark Lane, 1807, - now removed (except the tower), and the parish united - with St. Olave, Hart Street; Ironmongers’ Hall is in - the parish of Allhallows 1 - - (_b_) The Church of St. Luke’s, Old Street, Middlesex, - 1807; erected on land part of the Ironmongers’ - estate; consecrated on St. Luke’s Day, 1733 1 - - III.—(_a_) One of the ancient silver-gilt salt-cellars 12 - - (_b_) One of two fifteenth-century maple-wood mazer-bowls, - with silver-gilt mountings 12 - - IV.—A cocoa-nut cup, or hanap, of sixteenth-century date, with - silver-gilt bands and mountings, and 8½ inches high 18 - - V.—(_a_) The “Estridge,” or ostrich, carved in wood, about - 4 feet high, which was used in the Lord Mayor’s - pageant of 1629, and now preserved at the Hall; it - has a horseshoe in its beak 26 - - (_b_) A bronze token representing the fourteen almshouses - erected under Sir Robert Geffery’s trust, in the - Kingsland Road, 1713-1714 26 - - VI.—The hearse-cloth, or Ironmongers’ funeral pall, of crimson - velvet and cloth-of-gold tissue, the gift of John - Gyva, 1515, 6 feet 5 inches long by 22 inches wide; - the centre of each side represents “The Blessed - Virgin Mary in Glory”—Plate I. 34 - - VII.—(_a_, _b_, _c_) Ditto, Plate II.—The Three Saints 42 - - VIII.—Ditto, Plate III.—Monstrance at each end 50 - - IX.—(_a_) The Devil gives St. Dunstan a morning call 60 - - (_b_) St. Dunstan compels the “Evil One” to sign a treaty - of peace 60 - - X.—St. Dunstan gives a practical reminder of the power of - the horseshoe 65 - - XI.—(_a_) The “Evil One” on his rounds sees the effect of the - treaty 69 - - (_b_) The horseshoe puts to flight the Devil and pursues - the “Evil One” and all his evil companions 69 - - - - - -[Illustration: THE OLD CHURCH OF ALLHALLOWS STAINING, MARK LANE, LONDON, -1807. (See page 45.) - -THE CHURCH OF ST. LUKE THE EVANGELIST, OLD STREET, MIDDLESEX, 1807. (See -page 57.)] - - - - -A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE IRONMONGERS’ COMPANY. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE OLD CITY, ITS CITIZENS AND GUILDS. - - -In the history of the ancient Livery Companies of London we read the -history and progress of not only the City but the Empire. During the many -centuries of their existence the Guilds have performed a work for which -they deserve the praise and continued support of not only every citizen, -but every man who to-day enjoys the freedom of local self-government. -There have been kings and prime ministers who, in their tyrannical -measures, have forgotten the interests of the people and their trades in -their desire to gain unlawful ends, but in every case for hundreds of -years the citizens and the Guilds of London have stood forward to fight -the great battles for freedom, and the continued and present existence of -the Corporation of the ancient City, and the good work they do to-day, -prove, if we carefully read their history, that to them we are more -deeply indebted than “reformers” choose to acknowledge. - -Generations ago “the City” was a very small place, surrounded by a wall -with gates, through which the green fields and suburbs—then the pleasant -villages of Southwark, Charing, St. Giles, Clerkenwell, Islington, -Shoreditch, and the Tower Hamlets and Stepney—could be reached. These -gates stood at or near the entrances of the present streets known as -Moorgate, Cripplegate, Aldersgate, Newgate, Ludgate, Billingsgate, -Aldgate, and Bishopsgate, so that the reader can judge what the size of -old London was. On the south side there was the River Thames with its -Dowgate, and between this water-gate and Billingsgate was the entrance -across the only bridge that then spanned the river, which existed close -to where St. Magnus Church now stands—a few yards east of the present -London Bridge. In the suburbs were many excellent springs of water, known -as Holywells, and at one of these the parish clerks of the City assembled -periodically and held their festivals. The well existed till late years -in Ray Street, close to the Middlesex Sessions House, and the district -is now known as Clerkenwell. The Parish Clerks’ Company, although not a -livery guild, still exists, and is one of the oldest of the Guilds. - -It was long before the time of famous John Stow that London found a -contemporary topographer, for as early as the year 1179—now 710 years -ago—William Fitzstephen tells us the citizens everywhere “are esteemed -the politest of all others in their manners, their dress, and the -elegance and splendour of their tables,” and he pictures us the City in -all its primitive grandeur, while the citizens themselves were dignified -by the name of barons, a fact borne out by their description in King -John’s charter. Speaking of this charter reminds us that a brief epitome -of the principal grants, from the Conquest to the reign of Edward IV., -when the Ironmongers’ Company received its incorporation, will help the -reader to more easily comprehend the progress of the citizens and the -Guilds. - -There is no document more treasured at Guildhall than the diminutive -parchment which William the Conqueror gave to the citizens 800 years ago, -and upon which we all base our rights and privileges. - - I will that ye be worthy - of all those laws which - ye were in King Edward’s day; - and I will that each child - be his father’s heir after his - father’s day, and I will not - suffer that any man do you - wrong. God preserve you. - -In the Confessor’s time “the burgesses” of London had obtained the king’s -warrant for their freedom, and their children’s heirship, so that their -lives and their goods should be protected from the rapacity of the Lords. -The foreign merchant was only permitted in the City as a lodger, and was -strictly forbidden from selling his wares by retail and underselling and -infringing the rights of his entertainer, the citizen. Thus do we see -nearly a thousand years ago a precaution taken which we to-day are still -clamouring for! - -King Henry I., for a quit rent of 300_l._ per annum, granted the citizens -the Sheriffwick of Middlesex, which 750 years later has been taken from -them. The same monarch also granted them the privilege of hunting, and it -is probably through this right the Londoners obtained of late years, for -ever, Epping Forest as an open space. - -Being dependent upon the king, before the days of charter rights the -citizens were often sorely fleeced upon the slightest pretence, and in -order to protect themselves they in process of time formed guilds or -fraternities of different trades. Richard I. freed them from toll and -lestage throughout England, and gave them the conservancy of the River -Thames, which right was taken from them some thirty years ago. Of course -King John enlarged their privileges in 1199, for the City paid him 3,000 -marks, and kings would do anything if you paid them handsomely. Five -charters out of eight granted by Henry III. cost them one-fifteenth -of their estate, and for another, dated 1265, they paid 13,000_l._ -We mention this to show that having bought these privileges it is -unreasonable to deprive them of their rights without compensation, and -yet this question is never properly understood or thought of. - -In the fifth charter granted by King John (1214) the citizens of -London received the privilege of choosing their own Mayor from among -themselves, and it is to this right many of the livery companies owe -their foundation. The first Edward permitted the Chief Magistrate to be -sworn in before the Constable at the Tower should the king or his judges -be absent from London; and, furthermore, no stranger was to be admitted -to the City freedom unless six honest and sufficient members of a mystery -or trade be surety. In 1311 Edward II. exempted the citizens from service -outside the City in the time of war or tumult, and for this privilege the -king was favoured with a gift of 2,000 marks. - -To King Edward III. the citizens are indebted for many of their most -valued privileges. Thus, in 1327, the Mayor was instituted one of the -judges in trials at the Old Bailey (Newgate), the right to bring felons -from any part of England and to their goods, the right of devising in -Mortmain and forbidding the holding of markets within seven miles of the -City. And in order to give them control over such persons as escaped to -Southwark to avoid justice, that ancient village was added to the City -liberties (and subsequently designated Bridge Ward Without). In 1337 -the same king confirmed the rights and privileges, forbidding “foreign” -merchant traders retailing in the City and acting as brokers; and in 1354 -granted a fifth charter, permitting the Mayor to have gold or silver -maces carried before him, from which time the title of Lord Mayor of -London has been assumed by London’s Chief Magistrate. - -Edward IV. was not behind his predecessors in favouring the citizens, but -then it must be noted they paid him some 12,000_l._ for four charters. In -1462 the Mayor, ex-Mayors, and Recorder were all made perpetual justices, -and were exempted from serving on juries, &c., while Bartholomew Fair, -with a court of Pie Poudre, was to be held in Smithfield. And in 1478 -they obtained the right of electing a coroner, and for wine-gauging, -&c. As it was Edward IV. who granted the Ironmongers their charter, we -have traced the progress of the City privileges so far, and leave the -Ironmongers’ records to tell the tale of subsequent progress. - -In the course of the preceding remarks the citizens have been so -continually alluded to, that a few notes about them and what really -constituted a citizen will not be out of place here. In the first place, -we think it is not generally known that every member of a City Company -is a citizen of London, but every citizen is not a member of a Company. -There are two grades of citizens—one free of the City only; the other -free of both City and Company, the latter freeman being designated -as “citizen and ironmonger,” or whatever Company he may belong to. -As the elections or admissions to all the Companies are the same, -that describing the admission to the Ironmongers’ will be found in a -subsequent chapter of our history. - -In all the early charters the general term is “citizens,” but the -Conqueror calls them “burhwarn” (inhabitants or burgesses of the -borough), and John and Henry III. call them “barons.” The citizens or -freemen were the men or inhabitants of free condition and householders, -in contradistinction to the bondsmen or villains of the great lords. In -the time of Henry III. (1260) all persons of the age of twelve years -and upwards were commanded to swear allegiance to the king. In 1305 -four persons who held land from the Bishop of London, and dwelt outside -the City, were deprived of their freedom, and about the same time the -City records declare that everyone who is sworn a freeman, and acts -contrary to his oath, should be compelled to “forsweare the town” and -lose his privileges. The statute of the 18th Edward II. for View of -Frankpledge contains a list of articles still in use, but the statute -has been improperly neglected. In 1326 all alien merchants were directed -to be amerced, and in 1364 it was ordained that a citizen should obtain -his privileges by birth (as a son of a citizen), by servitude (as an -apprentice), or by presentment of a mystery or Guild. In 1377, and for a -few years after, it was decreed that members of the Common Council should -only be chosen from the mysteries, and in 1385 a most important decision -was come to, for upon the complaint of the Mercers and the Drapers that -some persons had been improperly admitted to the Haberdashers’ and -Weavers’ Guilds who were not of those trades, they were at once expelled -the City. In the seventh year of Edward IV. no freeman or officer of the -City was to be allowed to use the livery of any lord or great man, on -pain of losing his office and freedom, so it is pretty evident the two -evils which at the present time (1889) beset us—foreign traders and civil -servant traders—were not unknown 400 years ago. - -We shall conclude this the first chapter of our history by a brief -notice of what is to be understood by the description “Guild.” In -ancient times Guilds or Gilds were of two kinds—religious and secular. -The term “Guilds” is from the Saxon—to pay, an amerciement or payment -towards the support of a brotherhood. The religious Guilds existed until -their dissolution by Edward VI.; their foundations in some cases were -very early, for at Glemsford, in Suffolk, in Canute’s time, existed a -fraternity of clerks. In London, the “Cnughts” or “Cnuighten Gild,” -of thirteen persons, had their district or soke outside the City -walls, near the Tower, and was the origin of Portsoken Ward. The Gilda -Theutonicorum, the steel-yard merchants of Dowgate, who first existed -900 years ago, and held a most important position, had their guildhall -in the neighbourhood where of late years the iron trade has been so -well known (Thames Street), and yet it must be borne in mind that the -definition of _steel_-yard was in reality a yard for warehousing general -_staple_ goods, and not solely for steel or iron ware. The transfer of -all trade concerns to the management and jurisdiction of the Craft Guild -was generally accomplished by a confirmation of their ordinance, that -everyone carrying on a trade within the town should join the Guild, -for which the Guild paid certain taxes—in London to the King—and under -Henry I. (1100-1133), and every succeeding reign, the Weavers paid a -fee-farm rent, and in 1179 no less than eighteen Guilds were amerced -as adulterine, or set up without licence. This was the same year that -Fitzstephen tells us the followers of the several trades, the vendors -of various commodities, and the labourers of every kind were to be -found in their proper and distinct places. Now, in proof of this, we -find that to this day in the neighbourhood of Cheap (market) side the -streets and lanes still exist wherein the particular trades in the old -City were carried on, viz., Milk Street, Bread Street Poultry, Cornhill, -Wood Street, Candlewick (now Cannon) Street, and Ironmonger Lane—in -which latter thoroughfare and Old Jewry, close to the Guildhall, the -ironmongers of old London carried on their business, as will be proved in -another chapter. - -Many of the ancient Guilds in local places which related to ironmongers -will be mentioned further on, but we may mention that Walford, speaking -of the Reading Cutlers’ and Bellfounders’ Guilds, tells us that one of -their orders was:—“No smith may sell iron wares within the borough -except a freeman, on forfeiture of two shillings each time.” Next to the -Saddlers’ and Weavers’ Guilds of London in antiquity are the Glovers’ -and the Blacksmiths’—the latter ordinances are dated 1434—and of this -particular Company the writer of the present history will at some future -time give some interesting and little known details. Suffice it to say -now that one of the orders particularly ordained: “If eny of the seid -bretheren or there wyves be absent fro oure comon dyner or elles fro -oure quater dai schall paie as moche as if he or she ware present.” -It is proved in this ordinance that dinners were common with the City -Guilds four centuries ago, and that the wives of the members were of as -much importance to the craft as the members themselves. At the present -day, we regret to find that the ladies are not always considered with so -brotherly an attention as the blacksmiths considered their ladies in King -Henry’s day. - -Another of the ancient Guilds was the Farriers’, whose orders, about the -year 1324, included the charges to be made for shoeing horses, at the -rate of a penny halfpenny for six nails, and twopence for eight nails. - -In Buckingham there was a Guild called the Mercers’, which existed from -early days. Even as late as the seventeenth century the minutes of this -Company contained many very curious entries. For instance, in 1665, when -Thomas Arnott, the eldest son of Walter Arnott, was made free upon the -understanding that he was “to follow the trade of an ironmonger,” he paid -“one gallon of good wyne for his freedom,” and when his brother Thomas -was admitted in 1671 “to follow only ye trade of an ironmonger,” he also -paid the like fee. Upon turning to the ordinances of the Company we find -that the ironmongers of the borough were, with other trades, associated -under the name of the Mercers’, and that the fifth clause particularly -orders “noe strange pson or fforeigner inhabiting within the said borough -or pish, and not ffree of the same, shall bee made ffree of the said -Companies to the intent to sell or utter any kind of wares usually solde -by any artificier, before such time as every such strange or forrein pson -have paid for his freedome”—the sums specified in a schedule annexed, and -which “for every ironmonger” was 20_l._, and “one good leather buckett -for the use of the said Corporation,” and that the son of such person or -freeman so admitted shall, upon being made free of the Company “whereunto -he hath beene an apprentice in forme aforesaid,” pay to “the bayliffe and -burgesses and his Company one gallon of good wyne.” - -As we proceed with our history we shall find some curious facts connected -with the London ironmongers, and that their ordinances, quaint and still -in force, contain many very illustrative evidences of the trade-unions of -centuries ago. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -IRON, IRONWORKS, AND IRONMONGERS. - - -Iron and its uses historically described should form no unimportant -part to the history of the Ironmongers’ Company, but as it is not our -intention now to give the thousand-and-one notes which would form a most -interesting and valuable compendium to the general account of the City -Guild, it is sufficient for us if we so condense our large store of -material and give such an epitome as will assist the reader to comprehend -the origin of the trade of which the company bears the name. - -A well-known writer justly observes that no one should fail to consider -the origin, history, and value of iron; that our instruments of cutlery, -the tools of our mechanics, and the countless machines which we construct -by the infinitely varied applications of iron are derived from ore for -the most part coeval with or more ancient than the fuel by the aid of -which we reduce it to its metallic state, and apply it to innumerable -uses in the economy of human life. The use of iron is identified with the -time of erecting the Egyptian monuments, the oldest in the world, and a -very large number of the helmets dug up at Nineveh were made of iron, and -some of copper inlaid. Readers of history have only to turn to the pages -of Anderson, Fosbroke, Scrivenor, Layard, and others to learn that iron -has ever been a most useful and valuable article of commerce. - -The Romans proved their constructive ingenuity by the manufacture of -those innumerable articles of iron which from time to time have been dug -up throughout England, particularly in those districts where woods and -forests at one time existed. In Gloucestershire the Forest of Dean for -centuries had the extensive furnaces about which so many battles were -fought in and out of Parliament, and in Sussex the sites of the ancient -ironworks in the Weald can be traced to this day, and will be found -described in Lower’s “Historical and Archæological Notices,” printed -in the second volume of the Sussex Collections. In the reign of the -Conqueror Gloucestershire possessed a large trade in the forging of iron -for the King’s navy, and in Edward I.’s time seventy-two furnaces were -kept employed. As we progressed, England discovered that the iron we -manufactured was wanted for home use, consequently Edward III. prohibited -its exportation. - -In the accounts for carrying on the war in 1513 there is an item -mentioning “nailes and yeran worke,” and just thirty years later -(according to Holinshed) the first cast-iron cannon was made at Buxted, -in Sussex, by Rafe Hoge and Peter Bawde. Among the State Papers there -are a quantity relating to the casting of cannon not only in Sussex, but -in other counties. The Lamberhurst furnace was a large foundry, for the -woods of the Weald were plentiful, and here, at a cost of 11,202_l._, -were produced the 2,500 fine iron railings and seven iron gates, weighing -200 tons and 81 lbs., for the enclosure of Wren’s Cathedral of St. -Paul’s, London. It is worthy of note that as early as 1290 Master Henry -of Lewes received a payment for the ironwork of the monument of Henry -III. in Westminster Abbey. The parish of Mayfield was famous for its -iron; at the palace were preserved many relics, and among these the -hammer, anvil, and tongs of St. Dunstan. Lower says “they seem to refer -as much to the iron trade, so famous in these parts, as to the alleged -proficiency of the Saint in the craft of a blacksmith. The hammer and -tongs are of no great antiquity, but the hammer with its iron handle may -be considered a mediæval relic.” The old legend of St. Dunstan and his -successful encounter with “the Evil one” must form part of the history -of the blacksmiths, and will not be an uninteresting portion of their -“mystery.” In 1559 the value of iron and ironwork brought into the port -of London, “the excess of which is prejudicial to the realm,” is set -down in a State Paper to be 19,559_l._ In 1622 Thomas Covell and others -received a certificate permitting them to sell round iron shot at 11_l._ -per ton. - -In the reign of Elizabeth there are two most interesting notices in -manuscript. The first of the year 1574, the second of the Armada year -1588. Nowadays we are used to “company promoting,” but three centuries -ago there was as wild a scheme countenanced by Her Majesty’s Ministers -as ever was floated to-day. Strype, in his “Annals” (quoting the -original MSS.), says “a great project has been carrying on now for two -or three years of alchymy, William Medley being the great undertaker -to turn iron into copper. Sir Thomas Smith, Secretary of State, had by -some experiments made before him a great opinion of it,” so had the -great Lord Burleigh, the Earl of Leicester, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, and -others, each of whom speculated, with the result that Her Majesty (for -certain royalties allowed her) granted them a patent in January, 1574, -incorporating them as the “Governor and Society of the New Art” ... -“for making copper and quicksilver by the way of transmutation with the -commodities growing of that mystery.” Twenty persons only were to form -the company; to “dig open and work for any mines, owers, and things -whatsoever.” Sundry sums of 100_l._ each were subscribed by Burleigh, -Smith & Co., but “the concern” did not prosper. The assay master at the -Tower mint was sent to “the works,” and so was Robert Denham, a relative, -by the way, of the Sir Wm. Denham who had been seven times Master of the -Ironmongers’ Company; but somehow or other we fail, as Strype failed with -all the papers before him, to learn “the wind up” of what was thought to -be “a most splendid investment.” - -Now in 1588 there was the original certificate given by “John Colman, -of the Kanc, gent,” of “Chardges belonging to a furnace for making a -fowndry of iron for one whole weeke” at Canckwood (Cannock Wood?), co. -Stafford. According to this document, for one ton the furnace cost -110_s._ 10½_d._, and the forge 69_s._ 2_d._; total, 9_l._ 0_s._ 0½_d._ -Seven years previous to this, the Act of Elizabeth, “Touching yron milles -neere unto the Cittie of London and the Ryver of Thames,” enacted that in -consequence of the great consumption of wood as fuel for these mills, no -woods within 22 miles of the City should be converted “to cole or other -fewell for the making of iron or iron mettell in any iron milles furnes -or hammer,” except the woods of the wealds of Surrey, Sussex, and Kent, -and the woods of Christopher Darrell, of Newdigate, Surrey, gent, and who -had already preserved his woods for his own ironworks. - -Speaking of patents and Acts of Parliament recalls a note or two which -may as well be stated here. In 1676 Samuel Hutchinson, citizen and -ironmonger of London, had a patent granted to him for his invention, “a -newe way of melting downe leade oare into good and mallyable mettall with -minerall coales commly called sea coales and pitt coales, which hath byn -approved of by many prsons dealing in leade and other artists.” In 1766 -John Purnell, of Froombridge, Gloucester, ironmaster, invented a new -machine for making ship-bolts and rods of iron and steel. Between these -dates there were several patents granted to ironmongers, but the patents -were for numerous inventions quite apart from the trade. - -We have stated that the Ironmongers are known to have existed many years -previous to their incorporation in 1463. Now, according to the ancient -City records, called “Liber Horn,” compiled in the reign of Edward I., -(and quoted by Stow and others), the “Feroners,” or dealers in iron, -about the year 1300 complained to the Mayor (Elias Russel) and the -aldermen “for that the smiths of the wealds and other merchants bringing -down irons of wheels for carts to the City of London they were much -shorter than was anciently, to the great loss and scandal of the whole -trade of ironmongers.” Whereupon an inquisition was taken, and three rods -of the just length of the strytes, and the length and breadth of the -gropes belonging to the wheels of carts were presented and sealed with -the City seal. One was deposited in the Chamber of London, Guildhall, and -the other two handed to John Dode and Robert Paddington, the ironmongers -of the market, and John Wymondham, ironmonger of the Bridge, who were -accordingly sworn to oversee for the benefit of the trade, and empowered -to seize all unjust and less-sized irons in future. This reference is -particularly interesting, for it not only proves the existence of “the -trade” at least one hundred and sixty years before the incorporation of -the Ironmongers, but gives us an insight into the way complaints were -redressed nearly six hundred years ago. - -In Causton’s introduction to “Mildmay on City Elections,” we are -told that in a few years after the accession of Edward III. a silent -revolution had been accomplished—the gildated crafts by the enrolment -of the special freemen, householders of the wards each in his mystery, -had obtained an exclusively civic importance, paramount to the mixed -character of the inhabitants of the wards as civic divisions, and the -reconstruction of the City from a territorial to a trading classification -had become complete. Thus, in the twenty-fifth year of Edward III., 1351, -a precept was directed to the wardens of the City Guilds by the Mayor -(which precept formerly had been directed to the men of each ward), -and in this precept each of the thirty-three mysteries was directed to -select from their number four persons, who were to join the others of the -Companies in a consultation with the Mayor and Sheriffs on the business -of the City. The Ironmongers accordingly selected their two wardens -and two others to represent them, and from this date they claim their -existence as a Guild. In 1363 (37 Edward III.), when these Companies were -called upon for “an offering” to the King to enable him to carry on the -war in France, the then large sum of 452_l._ 16_s._ was contributed, -and the Ironmongers supplied 6_l._ 18_s._ 4_d._ It is worthy of note -that upon this occasion in precedency on the list it stood eleventh, -while to-day, some 500 years later, its precedency on the list of City -Companies is the tenth. Of this precedency, which was a serious question -in olden time, we shall have to say a few words later on in our history. - -We have now to mention a most interesting circumstance, which has only -recently been discovered. Among the enrolled letters at Guildhall which -between 1350 and 1370 were sent from the Corporation to many persons, -and which Dr. Sharpe, the Records Clerk, so ably edited for the City -four years ago, there is one written in French, and dated the 18th of -October, the 38th Edward III. (1364), and directed to some persons whose -names have not been preserved, but then residents at Bury—probably Bury -St. Edmunds, in Suffolk—“desiring them to assist Thomas de Mildenhale, -citizen and ironmonger of London, to recover his runaway apprentice, -Andrew, the son of William Bruwere, who is understood to be staying -in the town of Bury, in such manner as they would wish their folk to -be treated in like case or weightier. The Lord have them ever in his -keeping.” We are not told, and are not likely to know now, whether this -runaway “merry” Andrew was brought back, and, if so, how the Chamberlain -received him. In subsequent days a runaway apprentice would have “little -ease” at the hands of the Guildhall caretaker of a citizen’s conscience. - -We shall include in this second chapter of our history another most -interesting document which Mr. Riley found when making his extracts -from the Guildhall treasures a few years ago. It is nothing more or -less than the appraisement of the goods and chattels of Stephen le -Northerne, in the thirtieth year of Edward III. (1356), and gives us -a very curious picture of what an ironmonger’s shop contained at that -date. It would appear that the goods were in the house of one John -Leche, in the parish of St. Michael, Cornhill, on June 6 that year, and -that the appraisers were William Sunnyng, carpenter, Robert de Blithe, -“brasyere,” Robert Russe, “brasyere,” Henry Clement and Stephen Basham, -“lockyers” (locksmiths), and Adam Wayte, “upholder.” The total value -of the household goods and stock-in-trade came to the sum of 9_l._ -14_s._ 2_d._, but even this amount was a large one in those days. Among -the articles enumerated and appraised we find five carpets, 7_s._; -five bankeres, (bench-covers), 12 quyshynes (cushions), and one dosere -(tapestry hanging), 3_s._ 9_d._; three tablecloths and one towel, 21_d._; -one surcoat, 8_s._; one aumbrey (portable cupboard) and chest, 18_d._; -one balance, called an “auncere” (weighing-machine), 12_d._; pair of iron -gauntlets and pair of bracers (for the arms), 6_d._; 20 lbs. pewter, -2_s._ 11_d._; two querne (or mill) stones, 18_d._; three brass pots, -two pitchers, a basin, seven brass plates, nine pieces of holdshrof, -19_s._ 11_d._; feather bed, three carpets, three sheets, 9_s._ 6_d._; two -balances, 6_s._; trivet and four iron slegges (sledge-hammers), 3_s._ -6_d._; two plonchones (iron punches) and four cart-strokes (tires), -3_s._ 8_d._; pair of irons for Eucharist, five fire-forks, four heynges, -one tin pan, six latches for doors, four small goldsmiths’ anvils, -two kerfsheres (chaff-shears), 5_s._; eight pairs of kemstercombs -(wool-combers), and one boweshawe (bowshave), 11_d._; old iron and -balance, 6_s._ 8_d._; two iron spits and iron for bedsteads, 5_s._ 8_d._; -fifteen battle-axes, 7_s._; four hatches and nine pair of hinges, 6_s._; -two small andirons, twelve hatchets, five pickaxes, seven carpenters’ -axes, three twybilles, three woodbilles, four masons’ axes (old), pair -of pincers, flesh-hook, &c., 10_s._ 4_d._; twelve dozen hinges, 5_s._; -ten pairs linch-pins, nine pairs of bar-hooks, 6_s._; iron grate, anvil, -&c., 2_s._ 3_d._; thirty-three pairs of okees (ornamental mouldings), -6_s._; twenty bolts and sockets, 6_s._; twelve pairs of Utt garnets, -eleven pairs of Ambry garnets, ten plate-locks, 8_s._ 6_d._; five -latches, iron chisel, 120 keys, twelve cart-clouts (axle-tree plates), -3_s._; pikestaff, 4_d._; sixty columns (axle trees) for wheels, three -barrels and two vats, 2_s._ 3_d._; pair of mustard querns (mills), 6_d._: -mincing-bowl and shoe-horn, 1_d._; bacinet, dagger, and buckler, 5_s._; -wooden bedstead, 2_s._; &c. - -This inventory is very curious, and, as inventories of so early a date -are very rare, we could not resist the temptation of quoting one, -especially when it related to an ironmonger’s shop. Now, it appears -that the whole of these goods and chattels, together with one tenement, -three shops, and one alley, situated in the parish of St. Michael, -Cornhill, and valued at fourteen shillings yearly (rents in Cornhill -were reasonable in those days), were delivered over to Simon Palmer, -“pelterer,” and William Sunnyng, “carpenter,” by the Mayor and Aldermen, -to be holden in trust for the use of Alice, the daughter of John Leche -aforesaid, when she came of age. As the premises appear to have been -shortly afterwards burnt to the ground, the trustees had to rebuild, and -on folio 45 of the Corporation Letter Book G Mr. Riley found the cost of -such restoration. - -In our first chapter we stated it was in 1377 that by enactment the -Common Council and other officials of the City were directed to be -elected from the mysteries instead of by the Wards, as theretofore. This -privilege, although only temporarily enjoyed as regarded the Council, yet -has continued, so far as the Liverymen being the elective body of the -City officials, down to the present time, notwithstanding that 500 years -have passed by since the passing of the Act; and, looking at the list of -names of the persons chosen and the many notable individuals, styled by -old Stow under the heading, “Honor of citizens and worthinesse of men -in the same,” there are few persons who carefully and without prejudice -study the facts but will agree with us that the Livery have never -neglected their duty, but have, as a rule, only elected those persons who -would do their duty to their country, to their Sovereign, and to their -brethren in the City. We sincerely trust that, whenever any elective -franchise is conferred upon the Londoners at large, they will execute -their trust with as good and unbiased a judgment. In our next chapter -we shall tell how the Ironmongers carried out their trust after their -foundation as a Guild and an Incorporated Company of the City of London. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF IRONMONGERS. - - -Although existing records do not give us all the information we -should like to have about the ancient history of the Guilds, we have, -nevertheless, been able to show that by their joining in the election of -the City officials in the year 1351, and choosing four of their members -(John Deynes and Richard de Eure, wardens, and Henry de Ware and William -Fromond), “the wisest and most sufficient” in the Guild, to treat with -the Mayor and Sheriffs upon the “serious business” of the City, that -the Ironmongers were duly recognised thus early as a firmly-established -brotherhood. - -The “market,” or special place of business of the fraternity, was, as -we have said, in the neighbourhood of the City Guildhall, and hence -the existing name of Ironmonger Lane, which is a thoroughfare out of -Cheapside, on the north side, and the next turning to the Old Jewry -westward, between which streets to this day stands a church, known as St. -Olave’s (about to be removed), the predecessors of which—St. Martin’s, -Ironmonger’s Lane, and St. Olave—contained the remains of several eminent -ironmongers, including William Dikeman, “Feroner,” one of the sheriffs, -1367; Robert Havelocke, 1390; Thomas Michell, 1527; Richard Chamberlain, -1562. At what date the craft left this neighbourhood is unknown. We know -they possessed the Ironmongers’ Hall, more east, near Billiter Street, -in the middle of the fifteenth century, about which district the members -individually may have carried on business; Strype, however, stating that -when they removed from their old market they took up a position in Thames -Street, wherein to this day, as is well known, the iron wharves and -warehouses are numerous and extensive. - -The precedency question in the olden time was a momentous one for the -City Guilds, and led to many conflicts between the members of certain -companies, which will be mentioned when speaking of “the Livery” and -“apprentices” hereafter. It is worthy of note here to remark that in the -year 1376(7), the fiftieth of Edward III., forty-eight Guilds elected 148 -of their members as the Common Council, when the Ironmongers, standing -the thirty-fifth in the list, elected four of their number. We imagine -that no actual precedency was here followed, for in subsequent lists the -“great” companies contained first thirteen names, and eventually twelve, -in which the Ironmongers stood eighth, eleventh, and, finally, tenth, a -position assigned them not so much for their wealth, but probably for -their respectability, or, as old Stow says, “the worthiness of the men,” -and the power they possessed. - -[Illustration: ANCIENT SILVER-GILT SALT-CELLAR. (See page 21.) - -A FIFTEENTH-CENTURY MAPLE-WOOD MAZER-BOWL. (See page 47.)] - -Again, from these great companies the Lord Mayor was always chosen. The -first Mayor was Henry Fitzalwyn, “Draper,” near the London Stone, which -is an ancient City relic still existing (but not on its original site) -in Cannon Street, not many yards from the office of THE IRONMONGER, in -which this history is first published exactly 700 years afterwards, -for Fitzalwyn was first chosen in 1189, and continued to hold office -twenty-four successive years. As we have said, the Lord Mayor was always -“one of the Twelve”; but in 1742 Sir Robert Wilmot, “Cooper,” declining -to be “translated” to the Clothworkers (as was the custom when the Mayor -elect was of a minor company), and there being no law to compel him, he -was consequently the first Mayor not of the great companies; and it is a -curious fact that Wilmot’s predecessor in office was an ironmonger, and -to this day the Coopers and the Ironmongers are associated in the Irish -estate. - -After a lapse of 500 years it will be interesting to many, and to those -who object to oath-taking in particular, if we give in its original form -the wording of the Ironmongers’ Warden’s oath required to be taken before -admission in the fiftieth year of Edward III. Its quaint phraseology must -be our excuse for the transcript:—“Yᵉ shall swere that yᵉ shall wele -and treuly ov’see the Craft of Iremongers’ wherof yᵉ be chosen Wardeyn -for the yeere. And all the goode reules and ordynces of the same craft -that been approved here be the Court, and noon other, yᵉ shal kepe and -doo to be kept. And all the defautes that yᵉ fynde in the same Craft -ydon to the Chambleyn of yᵉ Citee for the tyme beyng, yᵉ shal wele and -treuly P’sente. Sparyng noo man for favor ne grevyng noo p’sone for hate. -Extorcion ne wrong under colour of your office yᵉ shall non doo, nethir -to noo thing thot shalbe ayenst the State, peas, and profite of oure -Sovereyn Lord the Kyng or to the Citee yᵉ shall not consente, but for the -tyme that yᵉ shalbe in office in all things thot shalbe longyng unto the -same craft after the lawes and ffranchises of the seide Citee welle and -laufully yᵉ shal have you. So helpe you God and all Seyntes.” - -In 1397, one of the years of “Dick Whittington” as Lord Mayor, a curious -case came before the Court of Aldermen for decision. William Sevenoake, -a native of Sevenoaks, in Kent, and who, subsequent to the date we -mention, was Sheriff and Mayor of London, and founder of the schools and -almshouses at Sevenoaks, prayed the Court to be enrolled on the Grocers’ -Company, notwithstanding in his apprenticeship his master Hugh de Boys -was called an ironmonger. The Grocers having proved the facts, William -was accordingly entered as a grocer, and 40_s._ paid for the privilege. - -Before their incorporation, the Ironmongers were represented by three -Mayors of London, viz., Sir Richard Marlow, 1409-10, and again, 1417-18, -and by Sir John Hatherley, 1442-43, and yet, after their incorporation, -and not until the year 1566-67 did another ironmonger fill the “chair,” -although several sheriffs represented the Guild both before and after -their charter was granted. - -Herbert, the Guildhall librarian of half a century ago, speaking of the -compulsory enrolment of the Companies’ charters, “regretted exceedingly -that so little could be found about the ancient state of the City Guilds -among the State papers and records preserved by the nation.” If the -zealous literary citizen had only known then what we know to-day he -would not only have regretted, but denounced in the strongest terms (as -we do now), the gross mismanagement of the State Paper Office in the past -and the red-tapeism of the present time, the former losing to us for ever -most valuable records, the latter placing every obstacle possible in the -way of the documents now remaining being conveniently used by historians, -the publication of the contents thereof greatly helping towards their -future preservation. In our searches at the Public Record Office for the -purpose of this history, we have experienced this inconvenience, and -we certainly consider it should not exist in a Government institution -supported by the public. When we find the authorities at the British -Museum, and the Guildhall, and other repositories open to us, and giving -every facility with their records, which, after all, embrace priceless -treasures and quite as worthy of safe custody, the restrictions placed -upon literary research by the Master of the Rolls and the Record Office -officials is really worthy a Royal Commission of inquiry. - -When Henry VII. entered the City in 1485 the Guilds supplied 435 members -to meet the King, and of these ten were Ironmongers. In the year 1504 -there was a subscription of the sixty-one Companies, amounting to -313_l._ 16_s._ 8_d._, towards the erection of the kitchen and offices at -Guildhall, and 5_l._ was the sum the Ironmongers gave. It must be borne -in mind that in those days a small sum went a long way. - -We now arrive at an interesting period of the Company’s history. -Eight years previous to obtaining their charter of incorporation the -Ironmongers obtained a grant of arms. Both charter and grant have been -repeatedly exhibited and described, and beautiful facsimiles of the -two documents will be found in Mr. G. R. French’s “Catalogue of the -Ironmongers’ Exhibition of Antiquities,” in 1861, a most sumptuously -printed and privately circulated work, and now very scarce. - -By warrant dated September 1, the thirty-fourth of Henry VI. (1455), -“Lancastre, Kyng of Armes,” and the College of Arms granted “Unto the -honurable Crafte and felasship of the ffraunchised men of Iremongers of -the Citie of London a token of armes, that is to sey: Silver a cheveron -of Gowles sitte betwene three gaddes of stele of asure, on the cheueron -three swevells of golde: with two lizardes of theire owne kynde encoupled -with gowlys, on the helmet.” - -The two lizards on the helmet, it must be borne in mind, represent the -crest. “The Crafte” and their successors were to hold and enjoy these -arms “for evermore,” and the privilege of using a tabard upon all state -occasions. Clarenceux, King at Arms, inspected the original grant in -1530-31, and signed its confirmation, and in 1560 William Hervy, another -Clarenceux, curiously enough upon inspecting the same document, found the -patent “to be without good authoryte,” and therefore, either to ease his -conscience or that of the College, or for the more likely reason to be -mentioned presently, confirms once again the same grant of “armes, helme, -and crest” to “the Corporacon, Company, and Comynalty, and to their -successors for evermore,” to use the same “in shylde banners, standardes, -and otherwyse,” and “without impedyment or interuption of any person or -persons,” for the confirmation of which privilege, already enjoyed for -one hundred years, the Ironmongers’ books, Mr. Nicholl tells us, show -that “Mayster Clarensys” received thirty-seven shillings, and “his svant -for bringing them hom” twelve pence for his own use. - -Notwithstanding the official granting and confirmation, another -gentleman from the college, this time the Richmond Herald, inspected -the same document, and he too did the Company the honour in 1634 of -again “confirming” the same grants, so that it is impossible to deny to -the Ironmongers the right and privilege of bearing arms; and one fact -is certain, if ever a Corporation or Brotherhood possessed appropriate -armorials suggestive of their trade it is this Guild, which cannot be -said of the armorial shields of many other City Companies. - -Now, we have gone into this matter of the granting of the arms and the -three confirmations beyond the usually allotted space in histories for -the simple reason that one of the most extraordinary circumstances in -connection with heraldic grants has yet to be explained. The Ironmongers’ -Company, although possessing a grant which has been thrice confirmed -by the College, and in which the two lizards appear as a crest, -never received from either of the Heralds who were good enough for a -consideration to inspect and confirm an authority which each ought to -have given, to use “supporters” to the armorial shield, or, if the -Company had no right to use them, to inquire the reason why, &c., when -such were assumed. - -The Company adopting the supporters, two lizards, as in the crest, -Edmondson, another Herald, in 1780 actually stated in his Heraldic work -that they were given the Company in one of the confirmations! In 1812 -the question again came before Garter, King of Arms, when the Collegians -were good enough to say that the Ironmongers might have a “confirmation” -of the supporters upon paying the modest fee of 73_l._ It is needless to -say that the Company declined to pay this (in our opinion) extortionate -demand, and so to this day (as it has exercised from a period long before -this century dawned) the Ironmongers bear their supporters, as only true -citizens should. - -It may be interesting to note here that in many armorial shields of -private families there are similarities to that of the Ironmongers’, -except that, in place of the chevron between three gads of steel, there -are a chevron between three billets of wood, and it is particularly -interesting to call attention to the fact that such a coat is to be found -in a seal dated 1359, and still more curious that in the deed on which -this seal appears three ironmongers are mentioned: John Deynes, William -Dikeman, and Henry de Ware. This was nearly a century previous to the -Company receiving a grant of arms. - -The lizards, now used by the Ironmongers as crest and supporters, were -also used when naming their manor in Ireland in the reign of James I., -now known as the “Manor of Lizard,” and about which we shall speak -hereafter. Mr. Herbert, fifty years ago, remarks:—“What are in the arms -termed ‘lizards,’ we may rather imagine were intended to represent -salamanders—a creature supposed, like iron, to live unhurt in fire.” -Pennant says:—“The frolicsome agility of lizards enlivens the dried banks -in hot climates, and the great affection which some of them show to -mankind should further engage our regard and attention.” Another writer -quaintly suggests that the dear little animal not only loves iron, but -likes it hot, eating it with a relish, and digests it with ease. See also -the head-piece to Herbert’s “History.” - -Under the armorials is the Company’s motto, and that is, appropriately, -“God is our strength.” It is not known when this was assumed, but -the date is modern, for anciently—at all events, in the seventeenth -century—the Ironmongers’ motto was “Assher Dure,” which a well-known -antiquary translates as “steel endures,” and will be found in the -heraldic volume of Companies’ arms in the British Museum. - -A most important step was now taken, which in the history of the Guild -at once entitled it to the style of “worshipful.” In 1463 it obtained a -charter of incorporation. Written in Latin, it is not a lengthy document, -but is interesting, and prettily illuminated in gold and colours, with -the royal arms within the initial letter “E” of Edwardus, and another -shield of the Company’s arms in the margin beneath. Pendant is a fine -specimen of the royal seal of England, circular in size, in green wax, -dated Westminster, March 20, the third year of Edward IV., then 1462, -but, since the alteration of the calendar, now 1463. The King grants: “To -our well-beloved and faithful liegemen all the freemen of the mystery and -art of Iremongers of our City of London and suburbs thereof” the rights -and privileges to be a body corporate for evermore, to have a master and -two wardens (who are named as Richard Flemming, alderman; and Nicholas -Marchall and Robert Toke) and a commonalty, with perpetual succession, -under the name of “the master and keepers or wardens and commonalty of -the mystery or art of Ironmongers of London,” to have a common seal, make -ordinances, to purchase and hold lands and tenements to the value of 10 -marks yearly. - -The day upon which the Guild received their incorporation charter they, -doubtless, celebrated with all the ceremonials and festivities which we, -400 years afterwards, indulge in to-day, and they recorded in their books -a resolution: “That they shalle holde and kepe the said feste for their -principall fesst, evermore.” - -Ironmongers’ Hall in Fenchurch Street will be described in another -chapter, but we may as well state that the site of the present building -was granted in the year 1457 by the executors of Alice Stivard, the widow -of Sir John Stivard, Knight, to the nineteen “citizen and ironmongers” -mentioned (among whom were the three named in the charter), and that -in the Company’s books occurs the entry, “Bought by the for wreten -ffelowshipp and paid fore, and also posesson taken the XX daie of Octobr -the XXXVI yer of King Henry the VI.” - -Now, what do our reforming friends in 1889 say to this? There is nothing -said about trusts here. It is as much the Company’s freehold and belongs -to them, the “root and branch” descendants, as ever the commonest article -that may be purchased (and paid for, mark ye!) by any citizen and -working-man to-day. So, in simply quoting the purchase here, we do so to -put all reformers on their guard not to be so ready to make hay (by their -seizure) before the sun shines on assumed or presumed rights. - -But we will go a little further. The Company did not buy without legal -aid, for the books show “lernyd counsaile at the purchas makyng” received -not only 26_s._ 8_d._ for their advice and labours, but there was paid -“at taverns dyvers tymes” for refreshments to the same gentlemen the -large sum of 3_s._ 6_d._ - -Having purchased a house and garden, and regularly gone into -housekeeping, the Ironmongers began their furnishing in humble style. -Among the first articles purchased were the following:— - - x stoles iij_s._ iiij_d._ - i fire forke } - i pʳ tongs } xj_s._ vij_d._ - i pʳ andyrons } - i rake } - vij candlestickes iij_s._ iiij_d._ - i table and } - ij tressels } iiij_s._ vj_d._ - i caudron in a furneys in the kechen vij_d._ - i pʳ bed bords in the chamber xx_d._ - i water tankard xxij_d._ - i cheste in the boterye, bounded wᵗʰ yron ij_s._ - -And the same accounts tell us that “the alderman and the bedill at -ye possessyon takyng” received 2_s._ 6_d._ “For brede and ale at our -possession takyn” 22_d._ was spent, while “barge hyre at twoo tymes” cost -14_s._, but there is no evidence what for, or where to the barges were so -employed. - -It must not be said that the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers commenced -incorporated existence extravagantly. And we shall be able to show in -our next chapter that, as they began so they continued, careful in the -management of their charity trusts, and frugal in all matters pertaining -to their government. - -[Illustration: A SIXTEENTH-CENTURY COCOA-NUT CUP OR HANAP.] - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -FOUR HUNDRED YEARS OF THE IRONMONGERS’ HISTORY.—I. - - -Although Mr. Alderman Cotton, one of the Parliamentary City Companies’ -Commissioners, reported five years ago “that the returns made to the -Commission show conclusively that the members of the Livery Companies -were never exclusively of the trade the name of which was borne by their -Company, and that for about 400 years the larger proportion of the -members have not pretended to follow the crafts of their Companies,” -and that “the Livery Companies are not to be classed with friendly or -benevolent societies, with monastic institutions, or with political -or other clubs, but rather approached the character of a masonic -body, exercising in the past and at the present time a very good and -important moral influence not only upon citizens and City life, but upon -public life generally,” and foremost in the promotion of education and -charitable acts, we shall show that, like many other of the Companies, -the Ironmongers’ has never proved indifferent to its particular trade or -its kindred associations. - -It was contended before the Commissioners in 1882 that the whole of the -charters of the Companies are bad because the King parted with his right -to grant charters conferring the right of search. Without attempting to -enter into the question, or debate the correctness of such an assertion, -as only a lawyer could and would in “the good old times,” upon the power -of the sovereign to make a grant which has stood the test of centuries, -no such right is to be found in either of the Ironmongers’ charters. The -records of the Company show that statutory legislation for the protection -and regulation of the iron trade was enacted in the reign of Henry IV., -Richard III., Henry VIII., and Edward VI., and that on certain occasions -this Company have laid abuses of the trade before the Common Council that -they might deal therewith, this company not having the power in itself. -Amongst its own commonalty only the Ironmongers’ exercised supervision -and control of trading, but as none of the trade joined the Company other -than of their own free will and for their own good, obedience to such -control can only be regarded as voluntary, and not as infringing the -liberty of the subject contrary to the provisions of Magna Charta. - -We therefore desire in the present chapter, while giving a chronicle of -the Ironmongers’ progress during the past 400 years, to show that the old -City Guild has a history in many respects peculiarly its own, and that -since its incorporation it has frequently proved most valuable to the -State, the City, and the people. - -And yet the Ironmongers as brethren have had their troubles. Witness the -City Sheriff of 1479, Robert Byfield by name and Ironmonger by Company, -who, with Sir Bartholomew James, the then Lord Mayor, attended prayers -at St. Paul’s Cathedral, and had the audacity to kneel too close to -his Civic Majesty. His Lordship chid him for the affront; Mr. Sheriff -resented the scolding, and the end of the extraordinary squabble was -that the Court of Aldermen tried the case, and fined Mr. Byfield, who, -says Stow, “payd 50_l._ towards the water conduits,” one of which, the -great conduit in Cheapside, was then building. Our Sheriff, who resided -in Tower Street, did not long survive the trial, for he died in 1482, -and by his will proved he was far from being unmindful of religious or -charitable influences, for he not only founded a chapel and made many -bequests, but did not forget his poorer brethren in Fenchurch Street. - -But not alone and personally have the Ironmongers suffered. Our early -Monarchs appear to have considered the rich and powerful Citizens a fair -field for plunder. While Royalty was privileged to run to excesses, and -by extravagance spent the income their loyal subjects provided, the -Citizens, because they exercised their moral and more business-like -spirit of showing a balance on the right side of the ledger, were made -victims of repeated extortions. It is no use denying, and unjust to deny, -that our Sovereigns have so loved London as to sacrifice their comfort -or their greed by visiting it for other than personal motives, and the -records show but too plainly that Royalty in the past has depended upon -the wealth of “a nation of shopkeepers” for a constant supply of the -“needful.” The Royal draw upon the City purse commenced early in London’s -existence, and great has been the loss to the Citizens; and yet to-day -there are those who still clamour for the extinction of the very source -which has kept the nation alive! Our remarks are not overdrawn, as our -proofs are many—too many, in fact, to be detailed at large. One or two -must suffice now. - -Beginning, then, more than 350 years ago, King Henry VIII. set a bad -example to his descendants. Having asked the City for 20,000_l._—only as -a loan, of course—in the year 1523, he, the more readily to raise it, -“comandyed to have all the money and platt that was belonging to every -hawlle or craft,” and so the poor Ironmongers had to pay up among the -other Companies. The book sorrowfully records, “At the whyche comandmentt -he had all oure money,” and that amounting to only 25_l._ 1_s._ 2_d._, -the plate was pawned or sold, realising 46_l._ more, or a total of 71_l._ -14_s._ 2_d._; and even then, not being satisfied, twenty of the richest -members of the Company “lent” him out of their own pockets something like -190_l._, “Mr. Willm Denham oure Warden” heading the list with 30_l._ We -hope he was repaid, but we doubt it. - -The King having obtained this “little loan” so easily did not forget -to be “a suitor” to the City again; but the next time the Ironmongers -went to the Pawnbrokers was in 1544, when they “layd to plege, the xxij. -day of May,” their ewers, salts, and cups, to provide “xiiij. men in -harnes to goe over the see wᵗʰ the Kyngs army in to France, that was -iiij. bowmen and x. byll men” fully equipped for service. Now we do -not intend to quote every occasion when the Sovereign borrowed money, -but a few selected cases will tell the tale. In 1575 a precept from -the Lord Mayor commanded the Company to assist the Queen’s demand by -paying 60_l._, coolly adding, “if youe have not soe moche in store then -you shale borrowe the same at ynterest at thonly costs and lossis of -yoʳ hall.” Next year the Queen commanded the City to raise and hold -in readiness for her 140,000_l._, and a few years later, in 1588, the -celebrated Armada year, when every county in England lent its thousands -to assist in the defence of the nation, and the Companies of the City -advanced 51,900_l._, we find the Ironmongers’ proportion was 2,300_l._ -(“The City Guilds Subscription Lists,” in “The Western Antiquary,” May, -1888), raised among fourteen of the wealthiest members. In 1598 the -Queen’s Privy Council sent for 20,000_l._ more, and the Ironmongers lent -880_l._ In 1614, the treasury being empty, and Parliament dissolved, -the King asked for 100,000_l._; but the City was far from prosperous -that year. Government demands, the Ulster and Virginia plantations, -and other calls had drained the City purse; and it was only after -several meetings that the Ironmongers obliged His Majesty by making “a -benevolence” of 179_l._ And when, in 1620, another demand was made, and -the Company granted 170_l._, the members were compelled for a time to -be so economical that not only were all their dinners stopped, but they -actually fined each other so that the current expenses could be paid. And -still the obnoxious and oppressive precepts poured in. In 1627, in 1628, -in 1630, the citizens were truly “dearly beloved” to the King, and when, -in 1640 and 1642, the Parliamentary demands for another trifling “loan” -of 100,000_l._ made matters more and more disheartening, the Ironmongers -were forced to part with 3,400_l._, and another advance a little later -made the Government a debtor to the Company in the year 1652 of no less -a sum than 9,536_l._ 3_s._ 7_d._ If we calculate what was owing to the -other Corporations at the same time at only half this sum each, is it -to be wondered at that there were civil wars, or that the extravagances -of the “Merry Monarch” and his saintly brother James brought about in -succession the shutting up of the Exchequer and the revolution of two -centuries ago? - -The Ironmongers had all along proved to be such true friends to the State -that they found out to their cost, and too late, that they had not been -true to themselves. Their account with the Government and their Royal -masters of fifty years before still remained unsettled, and to so low a -pitch had their exchequer fallen that in 1691 they were again compelled -to pawn their plate for 253_l._, and no longer trust to the promises or -bonds of their debtors. And so, striking off the balance of 5,000_l._ -as a bad debt, they determined in future to trust only those who were -trustworthy. But even the loss or money, and having to pawn their plate -and valuables, were not their only troubles. The harassing demands of the -State at times were so oppressive that it makes us wonder the City did -not revolt sooner than it did and shut its gates to tyranny as Derry did -in 1688. Only one example of oppression need I give here. In 1675 the -Hearth Tax collector called in Fenchurch Street and demanded 4_l._ 16_s._ -for “chimney money” for two empty houses, belonging to the Company, then -standing between the present Queen Victoria and Thames Streets. The -Ironmongers declined to pay the demand, whereupon (says the record) “he -(the collector) did, wᵗʰ his consorts and constable, goe upp into the -hall and took away one of the Company’s salts.” This was distressing with -a vengeance, everyone will admit, and, notwithstanding that we think -empty houses to-day should pay their share of taxation and thus lighten -parochial rates, we do not advocate the sharp practice of King Charles’s -collector. - -Let us now take a rapid review of the Company’s history as applicable -to the trade. If they did not possess the right of search or the power -over the trade generally, like some of the other Guilds, they by advice -and action with the Corporation and Companies have upon many occasions -proved most beneficial and valuable. The earliest ordinances of the Guild -are of the date 1498. They provide for the elections of the Master and -Wardens “wᵗʰ tokens of garlands on their heds,” the charge of purchasing -“clothing or lyvery” for the brotherhood at the drapers’ shops at -Blackwell Hall (on or near the site of the present Guildhall Library); -the settling of the dinners, when the member paid 2_s._, “and for the wyf -if she be att the dyner xii_d._” (which is not an ironmonger’s wife’s -privilege at the present time); those freemen warned to attend the Hall -and disobeying to be fined 4_d._, and the wardens 2_s._; none to offer -insult to their brethren; “no member to sue a brother for debt without -leave of the wardens”; apprentices to be admitted to the fellowship -“having served his tyme well and truly”; “straungers or foreigners (that -is to say, those not already of the City) may be elected if introduced -by four creditable liverymen”; “the Wardens, once in every two years at -least, to search all manner of weights and measures that be used in the -same felashippe, and when they find any default to levy fines at the -discression of the master and wardens”; apprentices to be enrolled at -Guildhall within the first year, and to be registered in the Company’s -book; “no person in the felashippe shall take noon apprentice excepte he -have sewertie and bond for him in Cˡⁱ sterling”; and no apprentice to -be “under 14 years of age, and for no lesse terme than X yeres, except -it be his first apprentice taken for necessitee, and for him he shel ax -licence of the wardeyns,” and every apprentice his master shall advise -to be “resonable and honest,” and shall see that he have clean and sound -“hosyn, doblett, shirtis, and other necessaries,” ... “to kepe hym -from colde and wete,” and by no means to suffer “his here to growe to -long.” Finally, every member of the fellowship, whether in or out of the -clothing (that is to say, liveryman or freeman), was required “to appear -iiij. tymes in the yeere at the foure principal Courts, and these iiij. -Courts ben ordeyned alway to endure to Goddes pleasir principally, and -to redresse the maters that be not wele used, and to kepe pece and gode -rewle among us,” and at these Courts all arrearages were to be paid—the -master, 12_d._; the present or past wardens, 8_d._; the clothing (or -liveryman), 6_d._; and the yeomanry (or freeman), 4_d._; and the wardens -not to see the yeomanry decay. - -Such then is an abstract of the earliest ordinances of the Ironmongers. -At the present time the Company consists of a master, two wardens, the -livery (all of whom comprise the Court, and, therefore, unlike any other -City Company, who have a livery and a court of assistants as well), and -the yeomanry, or freemen generally, over which presides a warden chosen -by and from themselves at Easter, yearly. Of these we shall speak in -another chapter. - -The ordinances were revised and approved by the Lord Chancellor and -Justices in February 1581, when the rules were either modified or -extended. The elections are set forth; the four quarterly courts were -settled, and at which the master paid his quarterage money of 16_d._; -the warden, 12_d._; the liveryman, 9_d._ and the freemen, 4_d._ The -apprentice always to be of the age not exceeding twenty-four when his -term expired. The stranger or foreigner when admitted to pay 20_l._ The -search of weights and measures to be once a year, or oftener, in the -shops of the fellowship, and false ones destroyed, and fines of 40_s._ to -the Company to be inflicted. Other special ordinances will be alluded to -in another chapter. - -The Company in 1549 interested themselves in the passing of the Act -against the forging of iron gads instead of gads of steel, and six years -later there are several entries relating to the coal meterage, which -the Company had to superintend until the reign of James I. In 1557, -when the rules of the newly-founded Bridewell at Blackfriars were made, -and to which prison rogues and apprentices formerly, and of late years -unmanageable City apprentices only, have been sent by the Chamberlain, -it was specially provided in the governing of “the nail-house” that “to -you is given authority to make sale of all such nayls as shall be made -in this house, so the same be done according to the order taken with the -Company of Ironmongers, which is, that (they giving to this house as the -people of the same may by their travail reasonably live) shall before all -men have all the nails that are made therein, and have one month’s day -of payment for the same.” An inventory of all iron and nails, smithies, -hammers, anvils, bellows, and tools to be truly kept, &c., and proper -workmen appointed to oversee the idle apprentices’ work. In 1579 there -were at Bridewell what in 1597 were called “art masters,” or those who -had charge of trade apprentices, and among these were the naylors and -pinmakers. In 1598 “Spanish needles” were made in the prison; in 1602 the -pinners’ boys numbered fourteen, and in 1604 there were to be forty. - -In the first year of Queen Elizabeth, 1558, the new Timber Act received -special consideration from the Company, for it concerned the ironworks. -In 1561 they took action against one of the freemen, Clement Cornwall, -about whom a complaint was lodged for selling inferior goods at Lewes -Fair, and three years later, at the instance of the yeomanry, the -Court ordered that at fairs or elsewhere their members must sell nails -six score to the hundred, and not five score as formerly. In 1569 the -Founders’ Company fell out with the wardens of the Ironmongers’, which -was settled by the aldermen, and ten years later three members of each -Company of Ironmongers and Grocers were ordered to attend between the -hours of 7 A.M. and 6 P.M. at the Bishop Gate of the City, to inspect -and search every person and see that their “apparil, swords, daggers, -or bucklers, wᵗ long pikes, great ruffs or long cloakes, or carry thear -swordes close under their armes or the poyntes upward” were as by the -late proclamation provided. In 1612 the Ironmongers, Blacksmiths, and -Carpenters had many meetings, and passed special resolutions jointly on -the then serious question of the importation of rod iron and a newly -granted patent, and it is interesting to note that the then senior -warden of the Company was the young gentleman who misbehaved himself at -Lewes Fair in 1561, as already mentioned. In 1623 the Cutlers joined -the Ironmongers, and obtained from the Corporation the by-law that all -strangers or others should be compelled, as heretofore, to bring cutlery -and iron wares to Leadenhall to be examined. This new by-law caused the -Corporation and Companies much trouble to carry out, but it continued a -City ordinance down to the year 1665. - -In 1636 another trouble arose. A petition to the King by the shipwrights -complained of the making of nails “of the worst iron, of lesse weight, -strength and goodnes then in former tyme.” As the petitioners stated -the deceits were committed by “wholesale men who employed poor smiths,” -there was evidently a case of “sweating” in those days. For this the -Company were called upon to appear before the Privy Council, where, of -course, they would plead that they had no power over the trade generally. -Four years afterwards the old complaint of the strangers, Leadenhall, -underselling, &c., the Ironmongers were brought before the Corporation, -and it was ordered that the Company should, when necessary, take -possession, &c. The same year, too, the Company had to take notice of a -monopoly granted by the King to his gunfounder, of cast-iron goods, which -the Company were fortunate enough to get “called in and overthrown.” In -1657 John Richardson, a pinmaker by trade and Ironmonger by Company, -prayed to be translated to the newly-formed Company of Pinmakers; but -as by his copy of freedom he was to hold chiefly of the fellowship of -Ironmongers, the Court of the Company refused assent. This custom is a -peculiar one to the Ironmongers, and has often proved a bar to progress -to those desiring to join other Guilds where promotion is more rapid. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -FOUR HUNDRED YEARS OF THE IRONMONGERS’ HISTORY.—II. - - -It has been asserted by some of the most violent opposers to the -Corporation of London and the City Guilds that the Companies are part -and parcel of the Corporation, that they were incorporated for the -special benefit of the trades the names of which they are known by, that -they once were, and should still be, solely composed of such trades’ -members, and their property devoted to the artisans of such trades. Now, -with all due respect to such arguments and those who may argue on these -grounds, we must at once point out what is always considered to be the -most sensible view of the question—that circumstances alter cases, and -the merits of each case deserve to be considered separately. Were it -otherwise there would be at once an end of our freedom and birthright, -Magna Charta, and everything else. - -In our previous chapters we have shown that the Ironmongers’ charter -makes no mention of the Guild as specially incorporated for trade -purposes or for the trade’s sole benefit, and that the earliest by-laws -simply conferred the right of search and inspecting all weights and -measures “used in the same feloshippe,” and consequently did not apply -to the trade in general. In fact there was, and still remains, no -compulsion upon an ironmonger to join the Company, although in ancient -times, by charter-rights, he would be compelled to become a freeman of -the City, which, as we have already stated, did not constitute him free -of a Company as well. The Ironmongers’ charter was confirmed by Philip -and Mary, June 20, 1558; by Queen Elizabeth, November 12, 1560; by James -I., June 25, 1604; and by James II., November 19, 1687. The grant of this -last-mentioned letters patent was made to the Companies generally after -the stormy events of the previous four years, and as some reparation for -the gross injustice done to his subjects by Charles II., when, under -the power of the writ of _quo warranto_, he seized the City charters -and disfranchised the very men who had been his best friends. This act -of the “Merry Monarch,” and the shutting up of the Exchequer, the ruin -of the goldsmiths and bankers, and the continuous oppression of the -citizens by his brother James brought about sooner than royalty expected -the destruction of the King, “the glorious Revolution of 1688,” and the -accession of William III. on December 12 of that year, from which time, -and by special Act in his second year, the Companies have been restored -to their ancient position and privileges. And we firmly believe the -lessons then learnt by the partisans of Charles and James, and handed -down to their descendants, have not been forgotten by those still living -in the Jubilee year of Queen Victoria. In addition to these special -charters there was yet another grant made, which, as regards their -estates, is a complete answer to those who to-day say the Ironmongers’ -property is not their own. It is “a perpetuitie” made to them and their -successors for ever by James I., dated August 4, 1619. - -[Illustration: A CARVED WOOD OSTRICH, AS USED IN THE LORD MAYOR’S PAGEANT -OF 1629. (See pages 33-35.) - -A BRONZE TOKEN, REPRESENTING THE GEFFERY ALMSHOUSES, ERECTED 1713-14. -(See page 55.)] - -Exactly 300 years ago the ancient City of Chester was represented in its -Mayoralty chair by an ironmonger, whose son upset the good people of the -City by retailing ironmongers’ wares, to the prejudice of the Citizens, -who, by a grant from Queen Elizabeth in 1561, had been exempted from a -duty of 2_s._ per ton upon iron imported there. And in the same year of -1589 one Peter Newall, or Newgall, an assistant to his father-in-law, -Mr. Bavand, who appears to have enjoyed the distinction of being “an -ironmonger, a vintner, a mercer, and a retayler of manye comodities,” -complained that David Lloyd, “a retaylinge draper,” had “usurped the -name of merchant,” for which wrongdoing the Privy Council, the Secretary -of State, the Master of the Rolls, and all the machinery of the law was -set in motion that “the drifte of the said Lloyd shalbe ripte upp and -viewed into,” and the injury to the Citizens repaired. In Buckingham, -both in 1691 and 1706, two members of the Blunt family were admitted into -the Mercers’ Company “to follow the trade of an ironmonger,” and both -gentlemen were subsequently Wardens of their Company. Others, too, were -admitted to follow other trades. - -Mr. Herbert, the Guildhall Librarian, in his Historical Essay on the City -Companies, published fifty years ago, sums up the exactions on the Guilds -by the reigning powers in these words:—“Contributions towards setting the -poor to work, towards erecting the Royal Exchange, towards cleansing the -City ditch, and towards projects of discovering new countries; money for -furnishing military and naval armaments; for men, arms, and ammunition -to protect the City; for State and City pageants and attendances; for -provision of coal and corn, compulsory loans, State lotteries, monopolous -patents, concealments, seditious publications and practices, and twenty -other sponging expedients were among the more prominent of the engines -by which that ‘mother of her people,’ Elizabeth, and afterwards James -and Charles, contrived to screw from the Companies their wealth.” And -J. P. Malcolm, in the second volume of his “Londinium Redivivum,” 1803, -when giving his most valuable extracts from the Ironmongers’ books (and -who speaks of Mr. Sumner, the then clerk of the Guild’s “politeness -and attention worthy of an enlightened man,” and so totally different -to some other of the Companies’ clerks), remarks “that specie in their -hands possessed the faculty of attracting clouds of precepts, and that, -if the Company were lavish, the Crown was always ready to receive.” Our -last chapter proves the case, but a few more entries of another kind will -confirm the views expressed. - -In 1562 the Ironmongers were called upon to provide without delay -nineteen “good appte and talle persones to be souldiers,” each of whom -was to be provided with “corsletts and weaponed with pykes and billes.” -This demand meant that if none of the Company’s members cared to serve, -then they were to find some other men that would, and accordingly -liverymen and yeomen had to assist out of their own pockets to meet -the charge. Four years later three more soldiers were provided by the -Company out of the 100 fully-armed ordered away from the City for service -in Ireland; and, in 1569, no less than twenty-eight “men of honeste -behaviour” had to be found “to march against the rebells in the north.” -A few years later, in 1577, the demand increased, for an order came for -100 “able men, apprentices, journeymen, or others free of the City, of -agilitie or honest behaviour,” between nineteen and forty years of age, -and fully armed, for, says Malcolm in his quaint way, “the noble art -of man-killing.” The instructions issued out to these “volunteers” are -extremely curious to read, for nothing is said in them about evolutions, -advancing, retreating, or formation into columns or squares or divisions; -and, what is more notable, each man must have been in danger every moment -of being blown into the air by his own powder! In 1579 the Ironmongers’ -proportion of the 3,000 men wanted of the City for the defence of the -realm was 110, of which 72 were to be provided with “shott, calvyʳ, -flask, toche, murryn, sword, and dagger, and a pound of powder,” and 38 -with “pikes, corslett, sword, and daggʳ.” The Armada year of 1588, and -the call to arms upon that occasion will be found fully described in the -“Historical Essay,” printed in 1886; but in 1591, in order to provide the -7,000_l._ required for manning the navy, the Ironmongers lent 344_l._, -having two years previous received notice to have ready 1,920 lbs. of -powder. In 1643, when the Committee at Guildhall sent a polite request -to Ironmongers’ Hall desiring that fifty barrels of gunpowder should be -stored there as “a place of safety,” the Company politely returned answer -that they could not oblige, for not only want of room, but that their -tenants next door, having Spaniards, Dutchmen, and Frenchmen lodging in -the house, might be placed in danger of no ordinary kind. - -In 1596 the Companies were charged with 3,500_l._ for providing twelve -ships, two pinnaces, and 1,200 men, and the Ironmongers lent 172_l._ The -next demand made for ships or men was in the year 1639, when 1,000_l._ -was raised. Readers of history will recollect the case of John Hampden -and the “Ship Money” impost, and the Companies’ books prove too truly the -repeated extortions. The demand on the Ironmongers’ for men alone in the -forty years previous to 1600 was something like 300, besides their full -equipments, and when we reckon the money lent, the powder provided the -other calls upon their purse, it will be fully understood that the good -old times with this Company were none of the happiest. - -We will now mention another branch of the City Companies’ “business”—the -coal and corn custom. The object was twofold: to supply the poor in times -of scarcity at a cheap rate, and to defeat the combinations of dealers. -And yet, laudable as the custom was, it is astonishing to find from the -results that much imposition was inflicted upon the Companies, and that -the demands for storage poured in as fast as the money precepts did. -As early as 1605 the Ironmongers agreed “to provide a shipp to fetch -sea coles from Newcastle, as other of the twelve Companies intende”; -and in 1665 (the Plague year) they laid up 255 chaldrons, all the -other Companies laying in quantities in proportion. And here we cannot -omit to mention one of the bequests made by a worthy benefactor to the -Ironmongers’ Company. Margaret Dane, the wife of Alderman William Dane -(Sheriff 1569, and twice Master of his Company), by her will, dated in -1579, left in trust to the Company (among other munificent bequests) -sufficient money to provide every year 12,000 faggots to be distributed -among the poor of each of the twenty-four City Wards, to be used by such -poor persons “as fuel to keep them warm.” To this day this bequest of -three centuries ago is carried out by the company, a certain sum being -distributed to each ward. But it will hardly be believed when we state -that the opponents to the City Companies have gone out of their way to -magnify this praiseworthy bequest into the horrible tale that this good -lady left 12,000 faggots yearly to be used for the burning of heretics! - -The provision of corn commenced as early as 1521, and continued until -the period of the Great Fire in 1666, when, the Companies’ mills and -granaries being destroyed, the custom ceased, and was not afterwards -renewed. In 1579 eight ironmongers were deputed to go to all the City -markets and “set the price of meale”; in 1608 the Company was assessed at -88_l._ towards erecting the granaries at Bridewell, and another 88_l._ -the following year. Yearly provisioning the markets at Leadenhall, at -Queenhithe, and elsewhere continued until 1649, when the Company pleaded -that, through being “disabled in their estate,” they really were unable -to meet the Lord Mayor’s demand. A complete summary of this City corn -custom will be found in Herbert’s “History of the Companies,” vol. i., -pp. 132-150. - -We will mention a few of the “Miscellaneous” precepts which the company -were favoured with from time to time. In 1565-66 they subscribed -among themselves 100_l._ towards “the building of the new Burse”—the -first Royal Exchange. They made loans to Yarmouth (1577), Bury St. -Edmunds (1637), and Gloucester (1643) to help those places in their -difficulties. They made a benevolence in 1604 of 40_s._ to Messrs. -Chandler & Parkhurst, for having procured the passing in Parliament of -the Bankruptcy Act, “a matter verie beneficiall to yᵉ comonwealth.” In -1631 they agreed to subscribe 20_l._ a year for five years towards the -repairing of St. Paul’s Cathedral, and again on the rebuilding, after the -fire of London, in 1666, they, as individual members, were benefactors. -In 1694 they gave 40_s._ to a Greek presbyter of Larissa to help him to -get back to his country; in fact, such donations frequently occur in the -books. Mr. Nicholl remarks: “Not only are the City Companies called upon -to relieve the necessities of private indigence, but there is scarcely -any public charity whatever whose petitions for aid are not laid before -them.” - -In the beginning of the reign of James I. (1608-14) the Company, with -others, adventured in the New Virginia Plantation Scheme, “to ease the -Cittie and suburbs of a swarme of unnecessarie inmates as a continuall -cause of dearth and famine, and the verie origenall of all plagues.” In -1609 the King offered to the City of London the waste lands in Ulster -as another plantation scheme. This, the wisest act of His Majesty, was -accepted, and the Ironmongers (among other City Companies) became thus -possessed by actual purchase (as shall be shown hereafter) of their Irish -estate—the Manor of Lizard. In 1625-27 the Company lent, or advanced, -money to the East India Company, and in 1633 to the Greenland Company. It -must be mentioned here that, having subscribed to the Virginia Lottery, -Captain John Smith subsequently presented to the Company copies of four -of his books, all of which, unfortunately, are now missing. As the -copies contained dedications (in MS.?) the loss is to be much deplored. - -We now turn to more joyful matters—pageantry. The Ironmongers were not -behind in any of these. So long ago as 1483 ten of the Company (with -proportions from other companies), dressed in murrey-coloured coats, -rode to meet the King on his entering the City, and at the subsequent -coronation, when the Lord Mayor (Sir Edmund Shaa, goldsmith, and Alderman -of Cheap Ward, the same ward over which the present Lord Mayor in 1889 -presides) acted as chief butler at the feast, and received from the King -and Queen the wine-cups used by them as his fee, Alderman Thomas Breten, -Ironmonger, assisted his lordship in his duties. At most of the Royal -visits and coronations, and such like festivities, the Company, with -others, always had their “standing” and precedency, and in this respect -the “place” was much contested. A proof occurs in the history of the -dispute between the Skinners and Merchant Taylors in 1484. Upon appeal -to the Lord Mayor “for norishing of peas and love,” he decreed that from -henceforth the Skinners should dine with the Merchant Taylors at their -hall one year, and the Merchant Taylors at Skinners’ Hall the next year, -and so yearly alternately for ever should each company have precedence. -And for 400 years has this most excellent decree been celebrated yearly, -each Company toasting in the other’s hall their “root and branch,” and -wishing them “to flourish for ever.” - -In 1541, when Queen Anne Bullen came from Greenwich by water to -Westminster, the Company of Ironmongers spent no less than 9_l._ on -the festivity. Their barge cost 26_s._ 8_d._, and their provisions -included gurnets, fresh salmon, eels, bread and cheese, wine, claret, -and a kilderkin of ale. A reference to Nichols’s “London Pageants,” or -his “Progresses” of Queen Elizabeth and James I., will tell in full the -interesting character of these City shows, and the gorgeous displays made -by the citizens, who then, as now, never were niggardly in their tokens -of welcome. One of the most curious of these outdoor scenes was “the -setting of the marching watch,” when 2,000 persons, apparelled in holiday -costume, with 700 lighted cressets, borne aloft, paraded the City. A -description of a visit by Henry VIII., dressed in the costume of one of -his own guards, will be found in the first volume of Knight’s “London.” -The last entry in the Ironmongers’ books is dated 1567, but an account -of expenses a quarter of a century earlier shows that 800 cresset lights -cost 2_s._ 4_d._ per 100; a dozen straw hats, 12_d._; armourer, 6_s._ The -Company’s banquet cost 36_s._ Among the items of the feast were: A peece -of beef, 4_d._; a breast of veel, 7_d._; a neck and breast of mutton, -6_d._; a goose, 9_d._; four rabbits, 1_s._; bread, 6_d._; butter, 1½_d._; -water, 1_d._ The cook and two assistants, 7_d._; six gallons of wine, -7_s._; and a gallon of ale, 2_d._ - -Lord Mayor’s Day and the Lord Mayor’s Show was another City festival -red letter day from early times. Until the year 1752, when the Act for -altering the calendar came into force, the presentation of the Lord Mayor -took place on October 29, but since that year it has been November 9. Sir -John Norman, “Draper,” in 1452, was the first chief magistrate to go to -Westminster by water; Lord Mayor Finnis, in 1856, the last. Most of the -Lord Mayors have had their shows, the pageantry at which has been most -elaborate, especially during the seventeenth century. The following is a -complete list of the “Ironmonger” Lord Mayors:— - - 1409-10 } Sir Richard Marlow - 1417-18 } - 1442-43 Sir John Hatherley - 1566-67 Sir Christopher Draper - 1569-70 Sir Alexander Avenon - 1581-82 Sir James Harvey - 1592-93 Sir William Rowe - 1609-10 Sir Thomas Cambell - 1618-19 Sir Sebastian Harvey - 1629-30 Sir James Cambell - 1635-36 Sir Christopher Cletherow - 1685-86 Sir Robert Geffery - 1714-15 Sir William Humfreys, Bart. - 1719-20 Sir George Thorold, Bart. - 1741-42 Sir Robert Godschall (who died in his mayoralty on June - 26, 1742) - 1749-50 Sir Samuel Pennant (who died in his mayoralty on May - 20, 1750) - 1751-52 Robert Alsop (elected upon the death of Thomas Winterbottom, - June 4, 1751) - 1762-63 } William Beckford (died June 21, 1770; see his monument - 1769-70 } in Guildhall) - 1802-03 Sir Charles Price, Bart. - 1810-11 J. J. Smith, Esq. (Lord Nelson’s executor) - 1828-29 William Thompson, Esq. - -As we have already stated, some of the early Lord Mayor’s Shows were -elaborate, and illustrative of the Company’s trade name. They will -be found chronicled in Nichols’s “Pageants” and in Fairholt’s “Lord -Mayor’s Day Pageants” (Percy Society, 1843-45). The Guildhall Banquet -tickets during the past 100 years have been exceedingly interesting as -specimens of design and printing, the early ones being by Bartolozzi -and his school. A nearly complete set is in our own collection, those -at Guildhall, strangely enough, only dating back some fifty years, the -reason being that the show and banquet has always been the private and -personal festival of the Lord Mayor and two Sheriffs, the former paying -a moiety of the expenses, the total generally ranging from 2,000_l._ to -3,000_l._ It is, therefore, a vulgar error to suppose that the Citizens -and ratepayers are taxed a penny. - -The earliest notice of the Pageantry in the Ironmongers’ books is -1566, but the most complete account is that at the inauguration of Sir -James Cambell, 1629, which was compiled by Thomas Dekker, and entitled -“London’s Tempe.” It cost the Company 180_l._ There were six elaborately -“got up” pageants representing: for the water a sea lion and two sea -horses, and for the land an estridge, Lemnion’s Forge, Tempe or the -Field of Hapines, and Apollo’s Palace representing the seven liberal -sciences. The fourth or trade pageant is worth quoting. It is described -as “The Lemnion Forge.” In it are Vulcan the Smith of Lemnos, with his -servants (the Cyclopes), whose names are Pyracmon, Brontes, and Sceropes, -working at the anvile. “Their habite are wastcoates and leather aprons, -their hair black and shaggy, in knotted curles. A fire is seene in the -forge, bellowes blowing, some filing, some at other workes; thunder and -lightning on occasion. As the smithes are at worke they singe in praise -of iron, the anvile, and hammer, by the concordant stroakes and soundes -of which Tuball Cayne became the first inventor of musicke.” - - Brave iron! brave hammer! from your sound - The art of Musicke has her ground; - On the anvile thou keep’st time, - Thy knick-a-knock is a smithes best chyme. - -In proper places sit Cupid and Jove, Vulcan and Jove alternately singing -praises, the song ending thus:— - - Brave Iron! what praise - Deserves it! more tis beate more it obeyes; - The more it suffers, more it smoothes offence; - In drudgery it shines with patience. - This fellowshipp was then with judging eyes - United to the Twelve great Companies: - It being farre more worthy than to fill - A file inferiour. Yon’s the Sun’s guilt hill; - On to’ot! Love guardes you on! Cyclopes, a ring - Make with your hammers, to whose musicke sing. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -FOUR HUNDRED YEARS OF THE IRONMONGERS’ HISTORY.—III. - - -The Lord Mayor’s Show of the olden time, unlike the annual carnival of -the latter half of the nineteenth century, was in reality illustrative -of the trade to which (by Company) the chief magistrate belonged, and -notwithstanding the prejudices against pageantry at the present time, we -are staunch advocates for some annual popular display whereby the rising -generation of our great City may, like the apprentices of old London, -have visible proof that the Lord Mayor is a reality and not invisible to -his subjects, and that if they will only put their shoulder to the wheel -and emulate Hogarth’s industrious apprentice they in time stand the best -chance of living in a big house, riding in a gilt coach, and wearing that -big gold chain which yearly makes their appetites so keen and their eyes -glisten with delight. - -These Lord Mayor pageants of the seventeenth century were, as we have -stated, partly a show on the Thames and partly a show in the City -streets. Designed by the City poet of the period, the descriptions were -usually printed in a small volume and circulated among the Lord Mayor’s -friends and the members of the company. Probably the largest volume on -the subject is the reprint of the Fishmongers’ pageant of 1616, edited -by J. G. Nichols in 1844, a large folio with twelve illustrations, -_facsimiles_ of the original drawings. Our own copy of this work belonged -to Mr. Recorder Gurney, and has the plates beautifully hand-painted and -illuminated. And the smallest book upon so great a subject is a 32-paged -duodecimo entitled “The Lord Mayor of London: a Sketch of the Origin, -History, and Antiquity of the Office,” printed in 1860, and containing, -as we believe, every fact to that date worth knowing about the office. - -There are two items in connection with the 1629 show which must not be -omitted. That “gentle angler,” Izaak Walton, a City apprentice who had -been admitted a member of the Ironmongers’ Company eleven years before, -on November 12, 1618, was one of the thirty-two members of the yeomanry -who took part in the pageant. The “Sea Lion” and the “Estridge,” after -the day’s ceremony was over, were brought in state to Ironmongers’ -Hall, “to be sett upp for the Company’s use.” We do not know how long -the lion remained so proudly exalted, but certainly not so long as the -world-renowned relic still called the “original” dagger with which “brave -Walworth knight Wat Tyler slew” in 1381, and which, after being carried -in many a Fishmongers’ pageant, rests at the present time in a glass case -in Fishmongers’ Hall. The carved-wood ostrich still exists. - -[Illustration: THE HEARSE-CLOTH, OR IRONMONGERS’ FUNERAL PALL, 1515—PLATE -I. - -“The Blessed Virgin Mary in Glory.” - -(See page 55.)] - -The same year that Walton was admitted to the freedom (1618) the -Ironmongers’ pageant, exhibited a few days previous, and at which, -of course, he was unable to be a representative member, was devised -by Anthony Munday. There were three special attractions—an ironmine, -an ostrich (which eats brass and iron to help its digestion!), and a -leopard, the latter a compliment to the Lord Mayor, whose arms bore three -leopards’ heads, and whose crest was a leopard. The cost of these was -103_l._ Some of the payments are curious to read:—Six green (wood) men, -with four assistants, who threw up fireworks as they marched along, cost -8_l._ 10_s._; two men-of-war ships cost 30_l._; 120 chambers or small -cannon, 34_l._, with “4 lbs. of almond comfits put in the bullets in -the cannon,” 4_s._; banners and streamers, 36_l._; “a new antient staff -with faire guilt head,” 6_s._ 8_d._; thirty-two trumpeters, 24_l._; -taffety sarsnet, cloth, fringe, &c., 45_l._; “meat for the children’s -breakfast,” 42_s._; and marshalling the show, 3_l._ 6_s._ 8_d._ Last, but -not least, there was such a gigantic operation performed that it reads -like a Chicago event of to-day—“Removing the iron myne to the hall, 2_s._ -8_d._”! The next Ironmongers’ trade pageant (1635) cost 180_l._ - -The last Lord Mayor’s Show of the seventeenth century which the -Ironmongers specially connected themselves with was that of Sir -Robert Geffery in 1685, and who subsequently proved himself “a worthy -benefactor” to the Company and the founder of their almshouses. It was -designed by Matthew Taubman, and cost 473_l._ In his opening speech the -author reminds us:— - -“Though poets place the Iron Age the last, it had certainly a being and -was of use before silver or gold had a value among the ancients. To -calculate the original founders we must go further than Tubal Cain; nor -is it probable the first Cain built such a vast city without materials -and instruments proper for so great a design in opening the quarries and -diving into the stony bowels of the earth. As the mystery of iron-working -is most ancient, so is it most useful to the State, and most profitable -to the merchant and artificer. Iron, for the universality of its use, may -be called the efficient matter of all other mysteries, being either an -ingredient or necessary instrument in all arts and professions. Take away -the use of iron, all trading must cease.” - -Taubman devised this “London’s Annual Triumph,” as he called it, in -four pageants. The first exhibited a pyramid, on which was placed the -Company’s founder, King Edward the Fourth, with Victory associated with -Vigilance, Courage, and Conduct, and those four beautiful virgins, -Triumph, Honour, Peace, and Plenty; the second pageant was a sea chariot; -the third, a triumphal arch of loyalty, upon which was exalted Fame, -supported by Truth, Union, and Concord; the fourth (or trade) pageant -represented the Mountain of Ætna casting forth its sulphurous matter, -with Vulcan, hammer in hand, at his anvil, attended by three Cyclops, -also at anvils, answering Brontes, Steropes, and Pyracmon, who were -forging thunderbolts for Jove and heads of arrows for Cupid. Amidst all -the din of music and noise of the smiths were to be seen attendants -throwing up ore from an ironmine, at the entrance to which stood -Polypheme, a great giant, with only one eye, and that in the middle of -his forehead, who, with a huge iron bar in one hand and a sword in the -other, kept guard “to prevent all others but the Right Worshipful the -Company of Ironmongers (whose peculiar prerogative it is) to enter.” -Every figure in the pageant acted well his part, and Vulcan and Apollo -probably took the lead, for Vulcan, addressing the Lord Mayor, sang:— - - Here, sir, in iron mines of sulphurous earth, - Where smoak and fiery vapours take their birth, - We forge out thunderbolts for incenced Jove, - And heads of arrows for the God of Love. - -Victory declaring:— - - Against cold ir’n no armour can prevail; - There’s no resistance in a coat of male. - -At the subsequent Guildhall banquet was sung the Company’s song in praise -of iron, and this was followed by another specially prepared to greet the -King (James the Second), who was present. - -It was nothing out of the way in those times for Royalty to dine with the -citizens, with whom both kings and queens were “hale fellows well met.” -The State papers and the Royal letters prove to the hilt that in a great -many instances the citizens would have preferred their room to their -company. The best anecdote belongs to the “merry monarch” Charles II., -who, dining at Guildhall, so “hobnob’d” with the Lord Mayor that they -did not know “the other from which.” The King, however, managed to leave -without ceremony, and was just getting into his coach in Guildhall Yard -when my Lord Mayor, discovering his loss, overtook him, and begged “Mr. -King” to return and “take t’other bottle,” which, no doubt, he did, not -forgetting a few days later to send to my lord his little bill for the -usual loan! - -In recent years the City Companies have taken up the question of -technical education, and it cannot be denied that in many instances -they have excelled themselves in this most praiseworthy work. If any -reform is wanted, both Royalty and Government are the last to do it, but -with the City Guilds, notwithstanding what is said against them, they -have been found to the fore when anything beneficial to the people is -required to be carried out, although in many instances they have neither -been compelled to do it nor has it been beneficial to themselves in -particular. From time to time the Companies had subscribed largely to -the charities, &c., of societies not always of their special trade; but -in January, 1860, the Painters’ Stainers’ Company took the lead in quite -another direction by giving notice that in June following they would -hold an exhibition of decorative works at their Hall in Little Trinity -Lane, Cannon Street. There were thirty-five exhibitors, and this, the -first exhibition of its kind, proving eminently successful, was held -again the following year, and has been repeated upon many occasions -since. The next Company’s announcement was that of the Ironmongers, who -held a conversazione and exhibition of ironwork and curiosities in May, -1861, and, although this was not a trade exhibition, but promoted by the -London and Middlesex Archæological Society, yet it brought together such -a remarkable collection as had never before been seen in a City Company’s -hall. In proof of this there is in print a very scarce volume entitled “A -Catalogue of the Antiquities and Works of Art Exhibited at Ironmongers’ -Hall, London, in the Month of May, 1861,” edited by the well-known -Shakesperian scholar, the late G. R. French, at that time surveyor to -the Company. So laborious was the editing of this ponderous volume, of -642 large quarto pages—for Mr. French was compelled at last to rely on -his own resources in order to complete the book—that it was not issued -until August, 1869. The actual cost of the book will never be known, -for Mr. French died in October, 1881, and all the remaining copies, the -drawings, the wood blocks of the 331 illustrations, and a large quantity -of the original MSS. relating to the exhibition, the book, &c., had been -already dispersed. The “Catalogue,” however, will keep his memory before -the public long after everything else will have passed away. In this -volume will be found described and illustrated, not only the charters, -the plate, and other curiosities belonging to the Ironmongers, but also -those belonging to other corporations, and the principal owners of iron -and other antiquities and curios. - -As we have said, the exhibition was opened in May, 1861. Over 600 persons -attended the private view on Wednesday the 8th, 420 were present on the -9th, 1,345 on the 10th, and 1,678 on the 11th and last day—in all, more -than 4,000 persons, each of whom on entering signed his or her name in a -book still preserved by the Company. On the fourth day the Prince Consort -attended, and he signed his name in the Court book. It was the regret of -every one that, owing to the immense value of the antiquities, &c., the -exhibition could not be kept open longer. Since 1861 the Ironmongers have -had several other interesting meetings, and at the end of the month of -March, 1889, the Blacksmiths, by special permission, held its first trade -exhibition in the same building, following, as they do in this laudable -work, the Fishmongers’, Plumbers’, Fanmakers’, Turners’, Carpenters’, -Shipwrights’, Horners’, Coachmakers’, and other City Guilds. - -A most important step was taken in 1872, when the Ironmongers joined the -other City Guilds in the promotion of technical education. Mr. Henry -Grissell, an old ironmaster and then senior warden, represented the -Company at the meetings. Speaking of this great movement, the report of -the City Livery Companies’ Commission in 1884 tells us:—“The subject of -technical education has within the last few years been taken up by the -Companies. The Clothworkers’ Company has promoted the establishment of -Yorkshire College at Leeds, where instruction is given in the manufacture -of woollen goods, and similar institutions at Bradford, Huddersfield, and -other places, the present seats of its former trade. The City and Guilds -of London Institute for the Advancement of Technical Education has also -recently been formed. It is an association consisting of representatives -of the City of London, and of most of the more considerable Livery -Companies, and the funds which have been placed at its disposal by the -City and the Companies are very large. A building fund of upwards of -100,000_l._ has been contributed, and annual subscriptions have been -promised amounting to about 25,000_l._ a year. The former sum has been, -or is being, expended on a technical college in Finsbury and a central -institution in South Kensington.” When we state that the technical -education scheme is likely to cost the companies 50,000_l._ a year, no -one should say a word against them, but rather applaud the City for -having inaugurated a grand work without Government aid or the support of -the great employers of labour in outer London. - -The attacks made in Parliament during the past quarter of a century -against the City Companies have so far fallen back with a crushing -defeat upon the enemy. Mr. Maguire’s Irish spoliation scheme of 1868 -and 1869 ended, as it was expected it would, in proving then (as now) -that there are many worse-managed estates there than those belonging -to the City Guilds. In 1876 and 1877 Mr. James distinguished himself -by also attacking the Companies, and upon three occasions had the -majority of the House against his spoliation designs. Then, again, the -“Royal Commission” of 1880 has enabled our descendants to possess the -finest collection of historical details relating to the Companies it is -possible to get together, and for that alone—not for having obtained -the information at so serious an outlay to the Companies and the public -purse—historical students are truly thankful. - -We will now say a few words about the livery and the yeomanry, or freemen -generally, which, unlike any other City Company, form the only two grades -of membership in the Ironmongers (all the livery forming the court); -and this exception, together with the rarity of the oldest yeoman being -considered eligible for the “Clothing,” makes this Company in every -particular as regards the term Livery Company unique. We are very sorry -it is so, because there are many of the freemen who are not only eligible -by time service, but are in many other ways equally eligible by their -devoted interest and their ability; while the peculiar order of the Guild -prevents them being members of other Companies where their services, &c., -would be more appreciated. - -_The Livery._—The introduction of liveries into the City Companies took -place 600 years ago. The chief members wore a gown or cloak with hood, -and for distinction sake each Company had its own colours; but we cannot -learn what the Ironmongers’ were. Edward IV.’s charter is directed to -“all the freemen of the mystery and art of Ironmongers,” and appoints -“one master and two keepers or wardens, and the commonalty” and their -successors to have perpetual succession, with powers to frame ordinances, -&c. The ordinances of 1498 (in which the warden was made responsible -in selecting the necessary cloth at the drapers) were revised in the -reign of Elizabeth, and finally approved, as stated in our fourth -chapter, in February, 1581. Four quarterly courts were to be held, at -which the livery called “the Clothing” were to pay their quarterage, -and those neglecting to attend were to be fined 2_s._ And at these -courts the yeomanry were to appear and also pay their quarterage. And -upon the admittance of a member of the yeomanry to the livery he was to -pay 6_s._ 8_d._ upon receiving “his pattern of his lyverie.” Those not -paying fines to be sent to prison. There does not appear to be a record -officially fixing the strength of the livery. The earliest complete -list is dated 1537, when it appears that the number was 59, at the head -being William Denham (Alderman) and Thomas Lewen (Sheriff of London). -In 1570 there were 54 liverymen. In 1687, before the restoration patent -of James II., the list comprised a master, 2 wardens, 44 assistants, -and 16 liverymen—in all 60, or one more than in the list just 150 years -previous. In 1710 the list was 95, but in 1776 the court had increased -to 100. In 1801 there were 97 all told; in 1828, 85; in 1833 again -98; in 1847, 82; in 1857, 99; in 1867, 84; since which time there has -been a gradual decrease, the total numbering only 48 last year. Now -this is an extraordinary decline, and we should not have collected all -these numbers had it not been that for some years past the yeomanry, -among whom are many worthy and representative men, have been discussing -their chance of obtaining “the clothing,” seeing that “calls” to the -court are by no means regular, and when they do take place younger men, -generally sons or relatives of those already on the court, are chosen -over the heads of “antient” yeomen equally capable, and certainly more -so by long connection with the Company, of looking after its interests, -their position in the commercial world being a guarantee that they -would serve their brethren without the “fee or reward” about which the -Royal Commission on the Companies had so much to say. The ancient dress -or costume of a liveryman in his cap and furred robe is shown in the -Leather-sellers’ charter facsimiles in the magnificent quarto work on -that Guild, edited by the late W. H. Black, for the Company in 1871. -From time to time many ordinances were made about the citizens’ dress, -special reprimands to the livery being administered in 1619 and 1677 -for not appearing in their gowns; and in 1698 the Corporation issued an -order that in future no one should join as a liveryman one of the twelve -Companies unless he had an estate of 1,000_l._, or one of the minor -Guilds under 500_l._ By an order passed in 1790 no servant is eligible -for election on the livery. In 1627 a very curious dispute arose between -Humphrey Hook, then residing at Bristol, where he had served municipal -offices, and the court, they calling upon him to be their warden, he -having been a freeman twenty-four years. The Company appears to have won -the case. - -_The Yeomanry_ are the freemen of the Company generally, and about -300 in number. Although not of the “Clothing” (livery) a yeoman was -described by an authority in 1759 as being of military origin, and in -many respects equal to an esquire, the former fighting with arrows and -bows made of yew tree, the latter carrying for distinction and defence -a shield. In the ordinances of 1581 it was laid down that the yeomanry -should pay their quarterage of 4_d._ a quarter, and that the wardens of -the livery should, when necessary, help the “wardens of the yeomanry”; -the four quarter-days are specially named as July 25, or St. James’ day, -October 18, being St. Luke’s day, New Year’s day, and the Wednesday in -Easter week, on which last-named day the new warden of the yeomanry -should be elected for two years, there having been two wardens allowed -by petition in 1497. All members failing to appear on these days were -fined. It was also decreed that two suppers should be kept yearly at the -hall, for which the wardens were allowed 33_s._ 4_d._ Mr. Nicholl, the -Company’s historian, states that the wardens of the yeomanry stand in -the same position to their body as the wardens of the livery do; but of -late years, their duties having declined, only one warden now represents -the freemen. The quarterage, too, of 16_d._ per annum has for many years -past ceased to be collected, and the two meetings and suppers at the -hall, which formerly took place on election day and St. Luke’s day (by -and under the authority of the ancient ordinances of 1581, confirmed by -the Lord Chancellor in 1590, assisted by the will in 1653 of “a worthy -benefactor,” none other than the clerk of the Company, Ralph Handson, -and finally approved by the Charity Trustees in 1876), were in the year -1830 discontinued, and two dinners appointed to take place at the hall in -their stead. At these meetings and festivals, which are proved to be no -unimportant rights, the senior warden of the livery presides, drinking -health and prosperity to the yeomanry “root and branch, and may they -flourish for ever”; their warden replying, and desiring his brethren in -return to drink to the health of the senior warden. These are the only -occasions when the members have the opportunity and pleasure of meeting -in a body, and may the ancient custom—which by special ordinances became -the freemen’s right—long continue is a wish echoed by the whole Company. -Formerly the bread and cheese and ale repast was obtained from the old -King’s Head Tavern opposite the hall in Fenchurch Street, and it was -within the walls of the New London Tavern, erected on its site, that the -warden of the yeomanry for the year 1888 held the St. Luke’s day meeting, -and by discoursing to his brethren upon the history and antiquity of -the Company, and exhibiting a number of curiosities relating to the -Ironmongers, not only brought together a most enthusiastic audience, but -for the first time in the recollection of the yeomanry made them feel -interested in their Guild, and to pass a resolution never to permit the -opportunity of meeting twice a year (by virtue of the old ordinance) to -lapse in the future. - -The freedom of the Ironmongers’ Company is obtainable by patrimony (as -children of freemen, for there have been free women admitted), servitude -(as apprentices to freemen), and redemption (by payment of one hundred -guineas, or honorary presentation); but, curious to relate, although -there are members of the Company “learned in the law” at the present -time (as freemen by patrimony), no attorney is eligible for election by -redemption. By ordinance dated 1657 no person is to change the copy of -his freedom, and by an order of Court made November 21, 1878, “no person -who is free of any other Company can be admitted to the freedom of the -Ironmongers’ Company, nor can he become free of another Company after -being admitted to the freedom of this Company.” This order necessarily -makes the Ironmongers a select body corporate, and unlike the other -Companies of the City. Upon being elected freeman the member makes a -declaration accordingly, and when elected warden he takes the warden’s -oath to look after the Company’s welfare during his term of office. The -beadle of the Company half-yearly sends out the notices: “You are desired -by the warden of the yeomanry to meet at Ironmongers’ Hall” (on the day -of election, or St. Luke’s) “when a court will be holden in the usual -manner.” At this court the warden presides and signs the freemen’s book, -as do also such members who may be present. The beadle, having previously -written to those of the yeomanry eligible for office of warden, submits -the replies to the court. The election is entirely by their own vote, and -selected from those present; and we believe for the first time in 1881, -when Mr. F. W. Pellatt was chosen. The warden of the following year (Mr. -Alfred Marshall, C.E.) was re-elected in 1883, he having taken an active -part in the freemen’s interest; and at the election in 1888 (the Armada -Tercentenary celebration year) the warden chosen was the author of the -“Historical Essay” upon the Spanish Armada, who, being a member of the -Plymouth and London committees, was selected in commemoration of the -Company’s zeal at the time of the threatened invasion 300 years previous. -At the yeomanry meeting at Easter, 1883, a special vote of condolence -with the family was recorded in the minute-book upon the decease of “its -much respected clerk, Simon Adams Beck, Esq., who for the long period of -nearly fifty years so ably discharged the duties of his very important -office.” The death of Mr. Beck, who was at one time Governor of the Gas -Light and Coke Company—the district in which the works are situated being -now known as Beckton—was a sad loss to every member of the Ironmongers’ -Company. His portrait appropriately hangs close to that of Mr. John -Nicholl, the Company’s historian, in the court-room at the hall. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE APPRENTICES, THE HALL, AND THE IRISH ESTATE. - - -The London apprentice of the olden time was as different a personage to -the ’prentice lad of to-day as the streets of the City are now unlike the -thoroughfares of two or three centuries ago. The ancient Guild ordinances -relating to apprentices prove that they were considered a most important -part of the establishment of a citizen, and this is not to be wondered -at when we consider that not only the trade of his master, but the trade -of London, depended entirely upon the skilled artisan and craftsman’s -ability, without which all the money-bags of the merchant were of little -use. We could fill a volume with the history and anecdotes of the -apprentice, but must content ourselves by giving a brief summary only; -and the notes that we do give will show that our apprentices were not -unworthy of the City, notwithstanding they were never backward in crying -“Clubs! clubs!” and eager for the fray. In every festival, on the “high -days and holidays” of civic life, at the marching watch or a Lord Mayor’s -Show, at “going a Maying” to Shooters’ Hill, and archery practice in -Finsbury Fields, the apprentice was an expected visitant. As he existed -in the days of James I., Sir Walter Scott, in his “Fortunes of Nigel,” -conveys to us a presentable and true picture. - -Since the year 1662, no sooner was a boy aged fourteen than a master -was found, and to him he was “bound” to serve, to follow his master’s -trade, and to learn it until the age of twenty-one, when, having proved -a good apprentice, he was admitted to the freedom of the Company to -which such master belonged. Sometimes his master in the meantime died, -and that necessitated his being “turned over” to another employer. If -the boy misbehaved himself, then the Company and the Chamberlain took -him in hand, and, if incorrigible, to Bridewell he was sent. It neither -benefited the Corporation, the Company, nor the master to take too severe -measures, and in recent years the cases have been few where correction -has been administered, although to our minds it should have been oftener; -and instances, too, have occurred where the master ought to have paid the -penalty as well. - -[Illustration: ST. ELIZABETH. - -ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST. - -ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. - -THE HEARSE-CLOTH, OR IRONMONGERS’ FUNERAL PALL. 1515.—PLATE II. - -(See page 55.)] - -The earliest enrolment of a City apprentice was in the reign of Edward -II., or five centuries and a half ago. There is a curious case recorded -in the Guildhall Letter-book II, folio 42, of the year 1376, when William -Grendone, _alias_ Credelle, a scrivener, was sent to Newgate and fined -for making a false indenture between William Ayllesham, a goldsmith, and -Nicholas, the son of William Flourman. The indenture was for nine years, -and the surety, instead of the father of the boy, was named as “the Cross -at the North Door.” This cross—Broken Cross, or the Stone Cross—was at -the north door of St. Paul’s, and, having been erected in the reign of -Henry III., remained there until 1390, and in those superstitious ages -any transaction there was, as a rule, considered binding. Each cross in -the City had certain stalls, or stands, or stations, and these from time -to time were let to persons who thus became Stationers, and in course of -time left these stations at the Cross, and took up their position in and -about Paternoster Row. - -The Ironmongers’ ordinance for the year 1498 (confirmed by the Judges -February 16, 1581) specially mentions the apprentice, as we have shown in -our fourth chapter. The housing, the clothing, and the general welfare of -the boy were fully set down, even to the command that the master “shall -not suffre his (the apprentice’s) here to growe to long!” Again, “Every -maister is sworne at the Guyldehall to make his prentice free wᵗʰout any -cost or charge to the prentice”—a custom, we regret to say, long ago -forgotten; and a century and a half after the making of the ordinance it -was further ordered that any master putting in an appearance with the -boy at the hall “before he have orderly cutt and barbed his hayre to -the liking of the Mʳ and Wardens of the Company” was to be fined twenty -shillings. One of the best City ordinances was that preventing the early -marrying of artisans, in 1556—a custom which had produced “povertie, -penurie, and lacke of livyng.” The Act recites:— - - That by reason of the over hastie marriges and over some - setting up of housholdes of and by the youth and young - folkes of the sayde citie wᶜʰ hath comonly used and yet do, - to marry themselves as sone as ever thay come oute of theyr - apprenticehode be thaye never so young and unskilful, yea - and often tymes many of them so poore that they scantly have - of theire proper goodeyes wherewith to buye theire marriage - apparel, and to furnish ther houses with implements and other - thinges necessary for the exercise of ther of ther occupacons - whereby they should be able to sustayne themselves and theire - family; - -therefore, for the remedy it was ordered that all apprentices in future -should not be made free until the age of twenty-four, at which age his -apprenticeship is to expire, and any master violating the order to pay -a fine of 20_l._ It is a curious coincidence, too, that in the original -rules, dated September, 1557, for the government of “the House of -Bridewell,” which hospital the City had recently obtained from Edward -VI., there is a special ordinance relating to the oversight of “the Nail -House”:— - - Now for the setting on work of the idle; it shall be very - requisite that with as much speed, and as conveniently as yᵉ - may, that yᵉ increase the number of apprentices being taught - in the said faculty and discharge the number of journeymen, to - the intent the same apprentices being themselves perfect and - absolute therein may train and teach such of our poor children - or other needy people as hereafter we shall call out of the - hateful life of idleness. - -As already stated, the overseers, artmasters, taskmasters, workmasters, -or artificers, for the foremen of the Bridewell shops, where the boys -were taught clothworking, weaving, pinmaking, &c., were so called, had -under their charge sometimes 150, and as many as 250. Two of the hospital -minute entries tell us:— - - 1602, Oct. 21.—Richard Brookes, fustian weaver, engages to take - during seven years next ensuing 40 vagrant boyes and wenches of - this city as apprentices to keep in diett, apparell, washing - and wringing: the said R. Brookes to receive with every of the - said children at their coming clean apparell and 10_l._ yearly. - - 1604, February 20.—Francis Ackland, pinmaker, engages to take - 40 vagrant boys as apprentices. - -And in 1606 the minute-book reports the order that the names of all -proposed apprentices brought into the House of Bridewell shall be -registered, as also the master’s name. During the last century the -apprentices in the house gradually declined, for in 1708 there were 140, -in 1768 only 60, in 1789 only 36, and in 1791 only 26, illustrating -but too forcibly the change in the times. It is probably not generally -known that in the olden time the Bridewell boys upon the ringing of the -fire-bell by the beadle used to drop their tools and start off to the -fire, wherever it was situate in the metropolis. The result was:— - - They were active, to be sure, and serviceable; but what were - the consequences to themselves? They were thrown among all - those profligates which a fire collects in the streets. They - got liquor, they got money, and frequently roamed about the - town all night without controul. The masters lost the benefit - of the next day’s labour; and not seldom boys were hurt, and - for a long time disabled from working. It is about 20 years - since this very pernicious practice was restrained. - -By the above quotations, written in 1798, we have shown that Bridewell -was not only a House of Correction for City vagrants, but was from its -foundation a real workhouse and artisans’ workshop. Many ignorant and -misinformed persons have before now gone out of their way to abuse this -institution, and declare that it never was put to the use the royal -founder intended. We could multiply our proofs that Bridewell always was -a useful house until Government, more than a century ago, meddled with -the City management, and spoilt this and Christ’s Hospital as well. - -Another ancient ordinance of the City is dated 1582, when every freeman -was charged to take such steps necessary to prevent, and not to suffer -under any circumstances, “servants, apprentices, journemen, or children, -to repare or goe to annye playes, peices or enterludes, either wiᵗʰn -the Citie or suburbs,” under the severe pains and penalties “at the -discretion of me and my brethren.” Exactly a century later, on August 9, -1682, some 2,000 apprentices of London, who had taken active steps in the -address to Charles II. for the support of the institution, were feasted -in Merchant Taylors’ Hall, the king specially sending them two fat bucks -for the occasion. - -The following is a copy of an original apprenticeship indenture, dated -1676. It is printed on vellum, 7 by 4 inches in size, the names and date -being the only portions written:— - - [Illustration: SHIELD OF THE IRONMONGERS’ ARMS] - - THIS INDENTURE Witnesseth that Clement Aleyn, Sonn of Clement - Aleyn, of Welton, in the County of Northampton, Gentleman, - doth put himself Apprentice to Samuell Clerke, Citizen and - IRONMONGER of London, to learn his Art: and with him (after - the manner of an Apprentice) to serve from the day of the date - hereof unto the full end and term of Seaven Years from thence - next following to be fully complete and ended. During which - term the said Apprentice his said Master shall faithfully - serve, his secrets keep, his lawful commandments everywhere - gladly do. He shall do no damage to his said Master, nor see - to be done of others, but that he to his power shall let or - forthwith give warning to his said Master of the same. He - shall not waste the goods of his said Master, nor lend them - unlawfully to any. He shall not commit fornication nor contract - matrimony within the said term. He shall not play at Cards, - Dice, Tables, or any other unlawful Games, whereby his said - Master may have any loss with his own goods or others during - the said term without license of his said Master, he shall - neither buy nor sell. He shall not haunt Taverns or Playhouses, - nor absent himself from his said Master’s service day or night - unlawfully. But in all things as a faithful Apprentice he shall - behave himself towards his said Master and all his during the - said term. And the said Master his said Apprentice in the same - Art which he useth by the best means that he can, shall teach - and instruct, or cause to be taught and instructed, finding - unto his said Apprentice meat, drink, apparel, lodging, and - all other necessaries, according to the custom of the City of - London during the said term. And for the true performance of - all and every the said Covenants and Agreements either of the - said parties bindeth himself unto the other by these presents. - In witness whereof the parties above named to these Indentures - interchangeably have put their hands and Seals the Three and - Twentieth day of Maye, Anno Dom. 1676, and in the xxviijth Year - of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King Charles the Second over - England, &c. - - CLEMENT ALEYN. - - Sealed and dd. in the pres. of Tho. Heatly, Clerke. - -By the Act of Common Council, passed March, 1889, apprentices can now be -bound for four years instead of seven, and instead of the master being -compelled (as of old) to make the apprentice an indoor servant, he is to -pay wages sufficient to keep the boy in food, clothing, &c., elsewhere, -as may be arranged. This term of four years also entitles the apprentice -to his freedom if the bindings are to citizens, and effected by the -Chamberlain and the Companies. The Ironmongers so long ago as January, -1863, had (when desired) adopted the five years’ term, but then, while it -gave the boy the Company’s freedom, it did not confer that of the City. -Thus, at last, in this official four years’ term, we have arrived at a -most satisfactory settlement of a long and often heart-burning grievance. - -The Ironmongers’ Hall, where the bindings take place and the Company’s -business transacted, is situated in Fenchurch Street, one house westward -of Billiter Street. The original ground upon which the premises stand -was purchased by nineteen ironmongers, members of the ancient Guild, in -October, 1457, and the original purchase deeds still exist to prove that -the site is the private property of the descendants of those nineteen -brethren of the Guild—if there is really any law extant that freehold -property belongs to the “root and branch” of a true-born Englishman. The -Hall is mentioned in 1479 as being in the parish of All Hallows Staining, -in the Ward of Aldgate. Between the parochial authorities and the Company -long existed a dispute upon the burning question of tithes, until some -twenty years ago it reached the crisis. A warrant was issued, and four -of the candelabra and two of the loving cups were “in a friendly way,” -in order to test the case, placed on a table in the Hall and momentarily -seized by the official, and as quickly restored upon the usual bonds -being given for the superior Court’s decision. A few years before—in -1862—some beautiful specimens of ornamental ironwork, which the company -had erected in the Corporation pew in the church as rests for the sword -and mace, suddenly disappeared, but upon question raised as suddenly -returned. There is a funny entry in the church-wardens’ accounts of this -parish for the year 1494: “Payd for a kylcherkyn of good ale, which was -drunkyn in the Yrynmongers’ Hall, all chargis born xij_s._ ij_d._” We -should like to know what brought about this merry-making 400 years ago. -Could it have been “a parochial settlement” of the dispute of 1479? - -In Aggas’s map of the City, of the reign of Elizabeth, Ironmongers’ -Hall is depicted as a range of buildings (among which was the clerk’s -residence). There was no entrance from Fenchurch Street, but only through -a long garden having entry from Leadenhall Street. That there was a -garden to the Hall is certain, because in the records, about the year -1540, there are numerous interesting entries similar to these:— - - ffor a gardener ffor a daye and a hallffe ffor - cuttyng of vynes and dressing of rosses xij_d._ - to a gardener for V dayes worke iij_s._ iiij_d._ - ffor cutting of the knotts of yᵉ rosemarie in the - garden x_d._ - -The first Hall remained until 1585, when, being found “ruinous and -in greate decay,” it was rebuilt, and a kitchen erected. The cost -was large—something like 600_l._—but the ground covered was somewhat -extensive. Tapestry was ordered for the Hall in 1590, and in 1629 further -additions were made. In 1686 new sundials were erected, and in 1701 a new -wall was put up to prevent the persons in the tavern next door looking -across the Company’s garden into the private apartments of the Company. -In 1707 a mulberry tree was planted in the garden, and in 1719 some new -lime trees, so that the Ironmongers’ garden was quite a rural retreat, -and like the Drapers’ garden, which has only of late years been covered -over by bricks and mortar. - -The second Ironmongers’ Hall was not burnt in the great fire of 1666, -although it was surrounded by the destructive demon. A certain William -Christmas, shipwright, did some good service to the Company upon the -occasion, so that in March, 1667, he received a gratuity. In 1677 the -Corporation ordered all public buildings to keep leather buckets, -hand-squirts, &c., to be ready in case of fire, and the Ironmongers -provided themselves with thirty buckets, one engine, six pickaxes, three -ladders, and two squirts, the latter being of brass, 3 feet long and -9 inches diameter. To this day may be seen some, if not the, buckets, -hanging in the vestibule of the Hall. In 1699 the music-room was -repaired; in 1707 a lion and unicorn was put up in the court-room. - -The third, and present, Ironmongers’ Hall was erected from the designs -of T. Holden, and at a cost of about 5,000_l._, about 1748. It was not -completed until 1750, when, on February 13 that year, a ball was given at -the opening, and a hogshead of port wine, half a chest of oranges, and -other good things were consumed at the feast. A full description of the -Hall and its interesting contents will be found in Malcolm’s “Londinium -Redivivum,” vol. ii. 1803, pp. 32-62. The Hall was repaired in 1817, -and in 1827 a light corridor connecting the grand staircase with the -drawing-room was erected, and two years later the four handsome columns -and pilasters were put up in the drawing-room. Just about a century after -the erection of the present Hall it underwent an entire redecoration, and -was reopened once more with a ball on June 8, 1847. The banqueting-room -is 70 feet long and 29 feet wide. A carved panelled dado, 8 feet high, -is carried round the room, having in the upper compartments the arms in -proper colours of the past masters from the recognised foundation in -1351. The windows, as seen from the street, are curious as presenting -seven different styles, and only equalled, we believe, by a house in -Berkeley Square, where, out of eleven windows, seven are of different -kinds. Mr. Nicholl gives a full description of the Hall and its contents -as existing in 1866 in his “Some Account,” pp. 421-467. The portraits -of eminent members hang on the walls of the banqueting-room and in the -court-room, two of the latest in the latter room being those of Mr. John -Nicholl, F.S.A., the Company’s historian, and Mr. S. Adams Beck, who for -nearly fifty years was the clerk and sincere friend of the Company, as -mentioned in our last chapter. - -From Ironmongers’ Hall were conducted the last remains of many a notable -member or citizen in the olden time. The funeral pall or hearse cloth -used on these occasions was the gift of John Gyva, ironmonger, in 1515, -and Elizabeth, his wife. It is of crimson velvet and cloth of gold -tissue, and is described and illustrated at pages 454-7 of Mr. French’s -“Catalogue.” Notes of the sixteenth century funerals are given in “The -Diary of Henry Machyn” (Camden Society), 1848. In the “Diary of Samuel -Pepys” he tells us of the funeral from the Hall in November, 1662, of Sir -Richard Stayner, where “good rings” were distributed and the mourners had -“a four-horse coach,” in which he by mistake took a place. - -There have been many meetings at the Hall, some of national and others of -great civic interest, especially in the making free and entertainments to -distinguished men like Lords Hood and Exmouth. In 1694 the Company let -the Hall for a lottery, which was called “the best and fairest chance at -last,” and five years later the whole of the old armour then standing -in and about the premises was sold to Mr. Thomas Saunders for eight -guineas, “the musketts 2_s._ 6_d._ apiece!” It is not generally known -that the national anthem of “God Save the King,” so repeatedly sung at -the old City feasts and all over the world, was the composition of Dr. -John Bull, who, with the children of the King’s Chapel, sung and played -it before James I. and Prince Henry at the Merchant Taylors’ Hall feast, -July 16, 1607. In Ironmongers’ Hall have dined Dr. Livingstone, Admiral -Dawes, and Sir Garnet Wolseley, the latter just before leaving England -for the Gold Coast. An interesting article, entitled “Banqueting with the -Ironmongers,” and giving a good picture of these modern entertainments, -appeared in the _City Press_, August 21, 1875. The Company’s plate is -not so extensive as that possessed by some of the City Guilds. The -collection will be found described by Mr. French in his “Catalogue,” -pp. 616-624. There are two mazer bowls (thirteenth to sixteenth century -drinking-vessels), of which only fifty are supposed to be extant, and -therefore curious and interesting. They are described by Mr. St. John -Hope in “Archæologia,” vol. 50, 1887, pp. 129-193. In the old views of -the exterior of the Hall are shown the houses on the east side adjoining -Billiter Street. These were pulled down and rebuilt some twenty years -ago. Finally, in bringing our description of the Hall to a close, we -cannot forbear mentioning a curious fact. In the first report of the City -Livery Companies’ Commission, 1884, p. 36, there is a list given of all -the existing halls of the City Guilds, thirty-four in number, and yet the -Ironmongers’ (one of the twelve) has been omitted! - -We shall conclude this chapter by noticing the Irish estate of the -Ironmongers’ Company, called “The Manor of Lizard,” about seven miles -from Coleraine, and skirting the river Bann, in the province of Ulster, -the total area of which is between 12,000 and 13,000 acres, occupied as -550 holdings, with a population of about 2,800 persons all told. The -net receipts from rents come to about 4,000_l._ a year. The estate is -scattered over five parishes, and until recent years has been a great -anxiety to the Company, who, having, like other Guilds, in former times -let their lands as a whole to certain responsible persons, receiving a -yearly rent, found out too late then that these persons, some of whom -were resident, grossly neglected the well-being of both the property and -the people. In 1766 the Company leased the estate to Josias du Pre, Esq., -for sixty-one years and three lives. In 1813 he sold the remainder of his -lease to the Beresford family. The last life mentioned in the lease was -that of the Bishop of Meath, who died in his eighty-third year in 1840. -The Hon. the Irish Society reported that year:—“The present holders seem -only to have used the property for the purpose of making the most of -it during the term of their lease,” consequently when the Company took -possession they found it no easy matter to put the estate in that order -which they so long desired to do. Through their energetic agents they -have at last succeeded, after terribly uphill work, and we believe the -tenantry now find out the truth of the Irish Society’s report in 1838, -which stated, “This estate upon the death of the Bishop of Meath passes -into the hands of the Company, and we have no doubt that it will prove a -source of much happiness to the tenantry when they shall be placed under -the immediate superintendence of that body.” - -The origin of the purchase of this estate arose through the rebellion in -Ireland, in the reign of Elizabeth, when the O’Neills and the O’Dohertys -were in the possession of the province of Ulster. In order to suppress -the revolt the army was sent over in 1566, and encamped in Derry County. -The lands were subsequently confiscated, and when James I. came to the -throne he found them such a source of trouble that he or his Ministers -devised the scheme of selling the whole property, being, as we have said, -confiscated from traitors to the Crown. The King also instituted the -order of Baronets to such persons who would pay towards the charges of -the reclamation of the waste lands and the new plantation, and peopling -with Protestants the North of Ireland, and that is why the red hand of -Ulster will be found in a baronet’s coat of arms. After much trouble -the City of London were offered the Irish estates, which the Companies -jointly purchased for 40,000_l._ This sum was subscribed by fifty-five -of the Guilds, being the twelve great and forty-three minor Companies. -The great ones were to manage for the lesser, the Ironmongers being -associated with the Brewers, Scriveners, Coopers, Pewterers, Barbers, -Surgeons, and Carpenters, paying 3,333_l._ 6_s._ 8_d._ as their share, -calling their portion the Manor of Lizard, from the crest of their arms. -“This manor was created by the Irish Society in October, 1618, and was -conveyed to the Ironmongers’ on November 7 following, to the only use and -behoof of the said Company, their successors, and assigns for ever.” In -May, 1613, the Coopers’ Company’s share was taken over by the Corporation -of London, and the Irish Society of the City of London, incorporated by -royal charter March 29, 1613, was made a body corporate to carry out -the plantation of the City and County of Londonderry, which cost them -from first to last before completed nearly 100,000_l._ To this day the -citizens of London annually visit Ireland, the last visit in 1888 being -more than usually important, as the two-hundredth anniversary of the -memorable siege of Derry, now Londonderry, in 1688, about which so much -has been written and said. The following works may be consulted as giving -true details of the plantation scheme, one of, if not the wisest of, the -schemes of the first King James:— - - “A Concise View of the Irish Society,” 1822. - - “An Historical Narrative of the Irish Society,” 1865. - - “An Historical Account of the Plantation in Ulster,” by the - Rev. Geo. Hill, 1877. - - “Calendar of the Carew Manuscripts at Lambeth Palace,” 1873. - - “Derriana: a History of the Siege, &c.” by the Rev. John - Graham, 1823. - - “A True Account of the Siege, &c.” by the Rev. George Walker, - 1689. - -Had it not been for this George Walker and the heroic prentice lads of -Derry, the preservation of that city would never have been secured. (See -Lord Macaulay’s History.) - -[Illustration: THE HEARSE-CLOTH, OR IRONMONGERS’ FUNERAL PALL. 1515. - -PLATE III. - -The Monstrance or Shrine at each end. - -(See page 55.)] - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE IRONMONGERS’ CHARITIES AND CHARITABLE IRONMONGERS. - - -Citizenship is the birthright of every man, but it is not every man who -is worthy of the name of citizen. What makes the honourable distinction -all the more valuable is when “a citizen of no mean city,” and the true -representative of “a nation of shopkeepers,” so truly values his rights -and privileges as to be ever ready to come forward when occasion requires -to protect it from the ignorance and contamination of those whose only -design must be to overthrow its virtues for the sake of personal gains. -It was Lord Chancellor Selborne who some years ago publicly declared -that his ancestors for four generations had been connected with one of -the City Guilds, and he had never been ashamed of anything either of -those ancestors had done, and never regretted his own connection with -the City or its Companies. And another eminent man of earlier days most -emphatically declared, “I would rather be born of the basest and meanest -of mankind, and rise to fame and distinction by my own exertions, than -that, being born of noble ancestry and high degree, I should bring -disgrace on an exalted name, and cross with a bar sinister the proud -escutcheon of my father’s house.” - -To the humble traders of old London their richer brethren left their -trusts, their charities, and their blessings. Their estates had been -obtained by hard work and hard-earned money in a great many instances, -and having been associated with the zealous and careful men of their own -Guilds they left to them the carrying out of the designs expressed in -their wills. No one would have left to a Government department such a -trust then, and no one will do so now. - -The Government inspector, in his evidence before the Companies -Commission, declared that he considered William Thwaytes’ bequest of -20,000_l._ “to make the Society comfortable”—and that Society was -the Clothworkers’ Company, to which he belonged some half a century -ago—really meant “to make the traders comfortable”! Or that every -clothworker in the kingdom—shall we say the world?—ought to participate. -On the same principle, if a workman in a shop left “to the workmen in the -shop” 5_l._, every shop in that trade should have its share. Pray what -would be the value of the bequest? - -The City Companies, as we have shown in the history of the Ironmongers, -had a terribly uphill battle to fight with early monarchy. Whenever there -was a chance to rob the citizens, down pounced the Government or Royalty. -Henry VIII. commenced by dissolving the religious houses, and the good -King Edward VI. seized the properties left to the Companies by the wills -of benefactors on the plea that they were for superstitious uses. Having -taken possession he was glad enough to sell the property back to them, -so that he made a very profitable business of the transaction. The result -of this “clever” and “sharp” practice was that the Ironmongers had to -sell their private property to buy back the trust estate. Having done -this, is it not creditable to a City Company to be still administering -that trust of which the King himself had originally deprived them? - -Coming down to more modern times, Thomas Betton, Hoxton Square, -Shoreditch, left the Ironmongers’ Company, in 1723, the residue of his -estate for the purpose of redeeming slaves in Barbary. Other notable -citizens had done a similar good deed before then, for so long previous -as 1641 Roger Abdy, merchant, had left 120_l._ “for or towards the -ransoming and redeeming of sixe poore English Protestant captives out -of the bondage and slavery of the Turks.” Thomas Betton’s bequest was -a noble one, for just about the date of it all the world was suffering -from the terrors of slavery. Between 1734 and 1825 the Company appears -to have paid away in redemption money something like 21,000_l._, or as -much as the whole estate had been originally worth, but the Ironmongers, -having been good trustees, had “improved” the estate, and the result was -that after Lord Exmouth’s great victory, no more slaves being likely to -be redeemable, and there being a large balance at the bank, the Company -desired to utilise the surplus for the benefit of charity, reserving a -certain sum per annum for future redemptions and contingencies. This was -serious, so down came the Government and popped the whole into Chancery. -The Company believed they were right, and did not want the interference; -but they had to fight against the Crown, and from 1829 to 1845 did the -battle last. Several thousands of pounds did Government law cost the -charity, but that the Company was right is evident, because the highest -tribunal, the House of Lords, decided that what the Company had proposed -so many years before should now be carried out—bequests to the poor of -the company and to every national school in the kingdom. - -The Ironmongers’ charities are not so extensive as many of the other -City Guilds’, but they represent a variety of really good and seasonable -benefactions. Among these are two almshouse foundations (Geffery and -Lewen), scholarships to schools and exhibitions to universities, a small -free school in Cornwall, the poor of the City wards, loans to poor young -freemen to help them on in life, bequests to hospitals, to poor maids -upon their marriage, to poor prisoners in debt, to the poor freemen and -their widows, to poor ministers and clergy, to the national schools -of the kingdom, &c. The charity trusts amount to about 12,000_l._ a -year, half of which, being from rents, have of late years fluctuated. -The Company does not possess any ecclesiastical patronage, except the -appointment of a chaplain, who is also the minister to the almshouse -poor. There was a priest of the company 400 years ago, but the present -chaplain, the Rev. H. M. Baker, is the fourteenth since 1715, when the -first appointment to the almshouses in the Kingsland Road was made. - -Through the changes of the times and the “compulsory” sales by Act of -Parliament for modern improvements, some of the old property has changed -hands and new property has been purchased. This has been specially the -case under the Geffery and Betton trusts, and round about East and West -Ham and the Isle of Dogs. The Company now possesses houses and premises -in Old Street, St. Luke’s (Mitchell), Basinghall Street, Philpot Lane, -and Fleet Street. It also possesses the site of the famous New Park -Street Chapel, Southwark, where the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon first preached -when he came to London; also, farms in the counties of Bucks, Essex, and -Surrey. When in the good old times—so says a newspaper in July, 1769—the -Company went on tour to view their Essex estate, they “held their annual -feast at the Devil’s House” (now Duval’s House), near East Ham, a house -of entertainment at that date. The sign of the house is suggestive to -the disciples of St. Dunstan. In recent years two great districts have -grown up in and around East and West Ham—Beckton, which takes its name -from the worthy clerk of the Company (S. Adams Beck), who died in 1883, -and Silvertown, from a recent Master of the Ironmongers’ Company (S. -W. Silver), who has proved most energetic in promoting the Company’s -welfare. One word more about the old estates. The great fire of London of -1666 burnt down nearly all the City property of the Companies, and the -loss to the Ironmongers was serious. Fortunately, the Hall was saved. - -Charitable Ironmongers, whether we view them as donors of land, of -houses, of plate, or other things, or for the time they have given -towards promoting the welfare of the Company, have been in many ways -worthy benefactors to the City and the citizens. We have been curious -in one inquiry—to what extent the donations of some classes of plate -have been made, and we find that in the 400 years ending 1865 “brother” -Ironmongers have given twenty-nine silver gilt cups and covers, many very -large and valuable, seventeen basins and ewers, and seven salts; besides -many other descriptions of plate, such as silver spoons, ornaments, -candlesticks, and the like. Of course, the Company does not possess all -the valuables now. Our former Monarchy, who had the citizens’ welfare so -much at heart, took good care (as we have already shown) not to allow -these valuables to remain too long in the hands of “the City Fathers,” -and so to-day the Ironmongers have but a small collection of plate. When -the charitable Ironmongers left these cups for their brethren “to make -themselves comfortable,” whether at a dinner or other feast, they never -thought that their radically-inclined descendants would object to the -good old English greeting: “The Master and Wardens drink to you in a -loving cup, and bid you all a hearty welcome.” - -Eminent Ironmongers, by their portraits, still adorn the Ironmongers’ -Hall. Thirteen are in the banqueting-room, and eight in the court-room. -Armorial shields round the Hall give us the names of our worthy Masters -from the earliest times, while there are two statues of great interest, -Edward IV., the founder, and Lord Mayor Beckford—this latter being in a -niche on the grand staircase. - -Abstracts of most of the Ironmongers’ wills are in our collection, and -the series is most curious. We cannot do justice to the subject now, but -some time we hope to give some interesting details. One, however, is -worth quoting, and that is of Alderman Richard Chamberlin, 1567. He was a -good benefactor, he remembered the poor, he gave the Company 50_l._ “to -helpe them oute of debte,” he left 10_l._ for “a dynner at oure halle,” -desiring the members’ wives should be present, and he then put down on -paper, “I praye God make us merye in Heaven!” - -We will now, in alphabetical arrangement, give a few of the names of -those Ironmongers worth remembering. We do not profess to give a -complete list, for such would form a volume by itself, so numerous are -they, and so many notes do we possess about them. - -BATE, John, 1500, and Felys his wife, gave to the Company a cup and other -things, “ther with to do God and us worship, and not to be solde while -they will last.” - -BECKFORD, William, Alderman, and Lord Mayor 1762 and 1770, when he died; -was made free of the Company 1752, was born in Jamaica, his father -being Peter Beckford, Speaker in the Assembly. The Lord Mayor made -himself famous by his celebrated speech to George III., as engraved on -the monument in Guildhall. Another statue, formerly at Fonthill, was -presented to the company by his son William in 1833. See pedigrees and -other details in Britton and Rutter’s two descriptions of Fonthill, -Wilts. Richard, brother of the Lord Mayor, was also Alderman and M.P., -but he was a member of the Clothworkers’ Company. - -BETTON, Thomas, a Turkey merchant, admitted to the freedom by redemption -1696, lived in Hoxton Square; will dated 1723. He died 1724; buried in -the Ironmongers’ Almshouse Grounds, Kingsland Road. Portrait presented to -the Company in 1728. Gave the residue of his estate for the redemption of -slaves in Barbary (as already noted). - -BLUNDELL, Peter, although not an Ironmonger, but from a poor errand boy -had grown to be a rich clothier, and one of “the worthies of Devon” -(Prince), and “a man very Godly and Christianly disposed all his life -time” (Stow), left charities to the extent of about 40,000_l._, including -150_l._ to each of the twelve great Livery Companies of London. He died -1601, aged eighty-one. - -BICKNELL, Elhanan, of Herne Hill, Dulwich, a citizen and Ironmonger, -and great patron of the arts. He died 1861. His will was proved at -350,000_l._ His pictures sold at Christie’s for 56,499_l._; the -sculpture, 2,145_l._; drawings, 15,947_l._; prints, 444_l._; his houses -and lands, 18,000_l._ He had no fewer than ten Turners in his collection. -He left several charitable bequests. - -CAMBELL.—Several of this family have proved to be eminent Ironmongers. -Sir Thomas, Lord Mayor 1610, Master 1604 and 1613; Sir James, Lord Mayor -1629, and three times Master; Robert, a merchant, and Master 1631. Sir -James was the principal benefactor, leaving nearly 50,000_l._, as may be -seen in Strype’s “Stow.” He died 1641, and his portrait is in the Hall. - -CANNING.—Of this family William was Master 1617 and 1627, when he died. -George (who died 1646) was for many years the Company’s agent in Ireland, -and was the ancestor of the Prime Minister George Canning. - -CARRE, John, 1571, his son in 1573, and Mrs. Carre in 1583, left many -bequests to the Company. - -CHAMBERLIN.—This family was well represented on the Company. There were -Richard, George, and Robert. Alderman Richard, Master 1560 and 1565, died -November 19, 1566, and was buried in St. Olave, Old Jewry. His epitaph -stated:— - - To the poore he was liberall and gave for God’s sake, - But now his fame is plentifull and he a Heavenly make; - He was like one of vs, according to our mould, - But now he unlike vs in Heaven where he would; - His time was short in sicknesse rare as to all is knowne, - But now his time shall long endure and never be cast downe. - -CLITHEROW.—Alderman and Lord Mayor Sir Christopher; Master 1618-1624; -died 1642. He was son of Henry, three times Master, who died 1607. See -pedigree in the “History of Hertfordshire.” A worthy benefactor. - -DANE, William, Alderman and Sheriff 1569, Master 1570-1573; died -November, 1579. Margaret, his widow, 1579, was “a good woman.” She left -many charities, including the 12,000 faggots to the poor for firewood, -which has been made by the ignorant the more serious gift to burn them -with. Her portrait hangs in the Hall. - -DENHAM, Sir William, descended from the Dinhams of Normandy. Sheriff -1534, Master 1531 to 1548. Died August 4, 1548. By a curious error in -the codicil to the will the Company were compelled to purchase the -properties previously bequeathed to them, including that known as the -Old Jewry Chambers. His portrait hangs in the Hall. Curiously enough, a -branch of the Denham family were copyholders of Hackney in the reign of -James I., and removed to Plumstead. Of later years another branch resided -in Hackney, and the wife of the present writer is a descendant of that -branch, descended from the Alderman Denham, and from the Thomas Denham, -a City Corporator early this century, and a member of the Court of the -Ironmongers’ Company. - -DOWNE, Robert, in 1556, gave premises in St. Sepulchre; also for dinners, -obits and plate. The site “Ironmongers’ Buildings” is now covered by the -Holborn Valley Viaduct. - -DRAPER, Sir Christopher, Lord Mayor, 1566. Eight times Master, the last -time in 1581. A window formerly existing at the Hall, with his portrait -on it, was removed in 1845. - -EAST, Robert, 1606, gave tapestry to the Hall, and 10_l._ for “a -drinckinge” at his burial. - -FRENCH, George Russell, son of John French, Master 1823. The son was -chosen surveyor to the Company May, 1849. He was a Shakespearean -antiquary, and wrote many interesting works, especially the compilation -“Catalogue of Antiquities” we have so often alluded to. He compiled -a very curious list of the Ironmongers’ Company, applying to each a -Shakespearean quotation. He died in October, 1881. - -GEFFERY, Sir Robert, Lord Mayor 1686, Master 1667 and 1685. He died 1703, -and was buried in St. Dionis, Fenchurch Street, and when that church was -pulled down his remains were removed, July, 1878, to the Ironmongers’ -burial-ground, Kingsland Road. By will, after many charitable bequests, -he left the residue of his estate for the purchase of land, and the -erection (in 1714) of the present chapel and fourteen almshouses. The old -twenty-nine rules for the government will be found in Strype’s “Stow.” At -the date of their erection the almshouses were in “the suburbs.” - -GRINSELL, Thomas, “Citizen and Ironmonger,” a well-known parishioner of -St. Dunstan’s-in-the-West, Fleet Street, and famous for having been the -Master of “the gentle angler,” Izaak Walton, who became a member of the -Company in 1618. The Grinsell family subsequently resided in Westminster. -About Thomas, see “Memorials of Temple Bar and Fleet Street,” 1869, p. 80. - -GYVA, John, about 1515 gave to the Company the hearse-cloth or -funeral-pall. It is of crimson velvet and cloth-of-gold tissue, -ornamented with fruit and flowers for centre-piece. In the centre of -each sides the Blessed Virgin Mary in glory crowned as Queen of Heaven, -with figures of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, St. John Baptist, and St. -John Evangelist. Beyond the figures on each side the Company’s arms, and -at each end in cloth of gold a monstrance, representing a silver-gilt -shrine, jewelled, inscribed with the name and date of John Gyva and -Elizabeth, his wife. This pall was long used for funerals. In 1532 it -was only to be used by members and their wives, but this exception was -relaxed, for in 1678 40_s._ was to be the fee for its use by strangers -generally. Elizabeth Gyva in 1534 gave the Company a tenement, directing -them to “remember” her in their prayers for 100 years. - -HALLWOOD, Thomas, 1622, gave plate, exhibitions to universities, &c. His -portrait hangs in the Hall. - -HANBEY, Thomas, 1782, provided for the education of two children in -Christ’s Hospital, and Mary, his wife, 1796, left the interest of 300_l._ -to provide for the repairs of the tomb of her husband in St. Luke’s -Churchyard, Old Street, and residue of the interest among the poor. - -HANDSON, Ralph, clerk to the Company, was a good benefactor and kindly -disposed, leaving in 1653 to the poor members, to hospitals, and to the -yeomanry for their half-yearly repast, as already mentioned. His portrait -hangs in the Hall. He was cousin to Nicholas Leat. - -HEYLIN, Rowland, Sheriff 1624, Master 1614 and 1625, died 1629. He gave -300_l._, out of which a dinner and a sermon were to be annually provided -to commemorate the Powder Plot deliverance, and loans made to poor young -freemen. His portrait is in the Hall. - -HARVEY, Sir James, Alderman; Lord Mayor 1582; four times Master. His -son, Sir Sebastian, was Lord Mayor 1618, Master 1600; wrote his name -“Harvye.” Lady Harvey, 1620, gave 21_l._ for a dinner at the funeral of -Sir Sebastian. - -HOOD, Samuel, first Viscount, was presented with the freedom 1783 in -honour of his great victory. He died 1816. His portrait by Gainsborough -(presented by Lord Hood) hangs in the Hall. We possess a characteristic -letter written by Lord Hood in 1811 with his left hand. - -HUMFREYS, Sir William, Bart., Lord Mayor 1714, Master 1705, and gave -a silver cup and cover. He acted as chief butler at the coronation of -George I. Died 1735, buried at St. Mildred’s, Poultry, and when that -church was pulled down (1875) the Company desired to give him a “proper” -reinterment at Ilford, but, although the character of the coffin showed -that the body inside was possibly his, all the silver plates and handles -and ornaments had been stolen long before, and so Sir William could not -be identified, and the remains were taken with the others. - -LANE, Ralph, Turkey merchant, gave to the Company, in 1712, a silver-gilt -cup, upon which is engraved a coat of arms, with thirty-two quarterings. -It is interesting to note that John Lane, the elder, in 1457, was one of -the Company who advanced 10_l._ towards purchasing the Hall property. His -son John gave 40_s._ - -LAWRENCE.—A well-known and respected name in the City. Several have been -members of the Company. John Lawrans, about 1500, gave “a grete maser -which hath sent Lawrans in the bottom.” It weighed over 60 oz. Another -John Lawrence, in 1731, gave a tankard. We may here mention that - -ST. LAWRENCE is the patron saint of the company. The old barge “head” -represented the saint with the gridiron in his hand. In the early -churchwarden’s accounts of the parish of St. Lawrence, Reading, are -numerous curious entries between 1520 and 1530, such as:—“For gildyng -of Seynt Lawrence gredyron, viij_d._”; “to the peynters Wyff, dew for -gilding of Seynt Lawren, vj_s._ viij_d._,” &c. - -LEAT, Nicholas, Alderman, three times Master, died 1631, captain of -the trained bands. He was an authority in agriculture (_see_ Gerard’s -“Herbal,” 1597, p. 246). The sons presented his portrait now in the -court-room. - -LEWEN, Thomas, Alderman and Sheriff, Master 1535, died 1557, founded the -almshouses in Bread Street, now in St. Luke’s. A good benefactor. His -portrait is in the Hall. - -MITCHELL, Thomas, died 1527, gave “a croft of garden enclosed by ditches -and wall” outside Cripplegate (now St. Luke’s) of about 10 acres, which, -with about an acre purchased in 1595, comprises now 11½ acres, covered -with some 360 houses. St. Luke’s Church was built and churchyard formed -on part of the ground. Portrait in Hall. - -MORRIS, Richard, was Master in the Armada year, 1588. Many members of -the family have been in the Company between 1568 and 1718. He died 1592. -His daughter married first Sir William Cockayne (Lord Mayor, 1619), -and, secondly, Henry Carey, Earl of Dover. From both husbands peerages -descend. Samuel Morris, in 1680, gave an iron box, with keys, to hold the -Company’s seal. - -MILNE, Sir David, K.C.B., admitted to the Freedom of the Company with his -superior officer, Lord Exmouth, in 1817. - -NEWELL, Mrs. Ann, in 1544, gave a table and napkins—a seasonable gift in -those days. Her namesake, William J. Newall, who died a liveryman of the -Company in 1888, and worth 257,000_l._, seems to have forgotten in his -will his poor “brother-ironmongers”! - -NICHOLL.—This is an old family name on the company. John Nicholl, -of Canonbury, Master 1859, was a good friend to the Company (and to -the writer). He compiled a magnificent account of the history of the -Ironmongers, 1851 and 1866, and the original MS. “Records,” in six -volumes, are in the Company’s library. He died February 7, 1871, aged -eighty-one, and his portrait appropriately hangs in the court-room next -to that of Mr. Beck. His son, Edward Hadham Nicholl, Esq., is the senior -warden of the Company this year. - -PELLATT.—Many representatives of this Sussex family have been in -the Company, including Apsley Pellatt, M.P., died 1863 (who gave a -silver-mounted snuff-box), and Thomas Pellatt, Clerk of the Company, died -1829. Apsley Pellatt, of Lewes, grandfather of the M.P., was Master 1789. - -PELLEW, Edward, created Viscount Exmouth, 1816. The hero of Algiers -and the terminator of slavery there. Presented with the freedom of the -Company, January 31, 1817, and with a sword by the City. The original -grant of the Company’s freedom, signed by T. Pellatt, the clerk, is -in the possession of a member of the Company. Portrait by Sir William -Beechey hangs in the Hall. - -PRICE.—This family has had many representatives in the Company. John -Price was buried at Clapham 1739; his wife 1760. Sir Charles Price, -Bart., Lord Mayor 1803, was Master 1798. In his mayoralty he gave the -magnificent cut-glass chandelier now hanging in the Hall. His portrait -also hangs there. Among other papers the writer has the original Privy -Seal for the grant of the baronetcy. Sir Charles died 1818. His son was -Master 1819 and died 1847. He was succeeded by Sir Charles Rugge Price, -who had a splendid collection of engravings, including a choice copy of -Rembrandt’s “Hundred Guilder Piece”—Christ Healing the Sick—which at the -sale in 1867 sold for 1,180_l._, the highest sum ever paid for a single -engraving. - -SHAKESPEARE, John, Alderman and Sheriff 1768, translated to the -Ironmongers’ from the Broderers’ 1767, Master 1769. A large ropemaker -at Shadwell. Buried at Stepney, 1775. Gave silver candlesticks to the -Company. He was supposed to be descended from a branch of the dramatist’s -family. - -SLADE, Felix, son of Robert, of Doctors’ Commons, and Walcot Place, -Lambeth; Master 1803. The son was a collector of choice articles and a -great benefactor to the British Museum and the nation. He died March 29, -1868. He founded the Slade Professorship. - -THOMPSON, William, Alderman, M.P. Lord Mayor 1828 A wealthy ironfounder. -Master 1829 and 1841; died 1854 His only daughter married the Earl of -Bective, now Marquis of Headfort. Among his gifts were two large silver -candlesticks. - -THOROLD.—Several members have been on the Company and served offices of -Master, &c.; also benefactors to the poor. The family were of Harmeston -Hall, county Lincoln, which was sold in 1884 for 115,000_l._ - -WALKER, Henry, made free in 1634, having served apprentice to Robert -Holland, was so extraordinary an individual that John Taylor wrote and -printed his “Life and Progress of Henry Walker the Ironmonger,” 1642, and -it is now a very rare tract. Captain William Walker, Master 1684, gave -in 1694 a large set of knives and forks, with silver handles, for the -Company’s future use. - -WALTON, Izaak, “the gentle angler,” apprentice to Thomas Grinsell, -was, on November 18, 1618, “admitted and sworne a free brother of -this companie and payd for his admittance xiij_d._ and for default of -presentment and enrollment x_s._”. His portrait hangs in the Hall. He -was warden of the Yeomanry 1627, died December 15, 1683, and buried at -Winchester. A full account of him and his family will be found in the -“Memorials of Temple Bar and Fleet Street,” 1869, p. 82, and Pink’s and -Wood’s “Clerkenwell,” p. 107. The writer possesses a large amount of -curious and original matter relating to “good Izaak,” which he intends -one day to publish. - -WESTWOOD.—Several have been members. While Robert was Master, 1828, -among the eighty-five liverymen were Lord Exmouth, Sir David Milne, two -baronets, and two aldermen. Robert, Master in 1861, gave a silver-gilt -cup and cover. William Henry, in 1878 and 1882, proved himself very -kindly disposed to the Company’s poor. - -WOODWARD, Mistress Katherine, in the seventeenth century, left 200_l._ -for poor scholars, prisoners, hospitals, and poor maids’ marriages. - -YOUNG, Richard, 1675, gave a silver salt, a caudle cup and cover, and was -excused serving office of Master. John, in 1695, gave the Company six -pictures. - -Such, then, are a few of the names of Ironmongers worthy to be -remembered. We have not exhausted, by a very long way, our list, but we -think the selection will prove that the Ironmongers have had many good -and true citizens in their roll. Our wish is this: May they increase as -years roll on, and, as the toast is periodically given by the Master of -the Company, so do we echo it three times three—“The Worshipful Company -of Ironmongers, Root and Branch, and may it Flourish for Ever!” - - * * * * * - -The writer having so far completed the task he has set himself, and -briefly chronicled some of the most interesting facts connected with -his ancient Company, thinks it but right to say that what he has now -printed is only a small portion of a larger history, which some time -hence he intends to produce for the benefit of the public at large, if -his life is spared to undertake the work. Having been honoured by his -brother freemen, as already stated in the last chapter, he determined to -prove he was not unmindful of his duty, or the rights and privileges of -his brethren, whatever some persons may think to the contrary. He has, -therefore, ventured to print as succinct an account of their history -as it is possible to give in a small compass, and Herbert’s “History,” -and the “Some Account” of his old friend John Nicholl being either out -of print or too expensive, probably the present will do as a temporary -substitute for the members until another is ready for publication. - - T. C. NOBLE, - Warden of the Yeomanry, - 1888-1889. - -[Illustration: THE DEVIL GIVES ST. DUNSTAN A MORNING CALL. - -ST. DUNSTAN COMPELS THE “EVIL ONE” TO SIGN A TREATY OF PEACE.] - - - - -APPENDIX. - -THE BLACKSMITHS’ COMPANY. - - -The advance of technical education, the inauguration of another trades -exhibition promoted by a City Company, and that Company the ancient -Blacksmiths’ Guild, must be our excuse for placing upon record some -account of its history from the earliest date known about it as a -fraternity. - -Of the origin of Guilds we have already had occasion to speak in our -history of the Ironmongers. Mr. Nicholl, the historian of that Company, -gives us some interesting facts in his notes, and we cannot do better -than quote his preliminary words:— - - The art of working in metals was more highly esteemed than - any other by the Anglo-Saxons. Their best artisans were the - clergy. Edgar established a law that every priest, to increase - knowledge, should diligently learn some handicraft. Dunstan, - Archbishop of Canterbury, to the arts of music, engraving, - painting, and writing, added the craft of a smith, and was - an expert workman. Stigand and Ethelwold, both bishops, - were celebrated for their mechanical skill. The chief smith - was a man of considerable distinction in the courts of the - Anglo-Saxon kings and his privileges and weregild exceeded - those of any other craftsman. Towards the period of the - Conquest the manufacture of iron had considerably increased, - and the art of working it was better understood. Steel and - iron armour were common. At the time of the Domesday Survey - the City of Hereford had six smiths, who paid each one penny - for his forge, and made 120 pieces of iron from the king’s - ore, receiving in return a customary payment of three pence, - and being free from all other service. The City of Gloucester - paid to the king 36 dicras of iron and 100 ductile rods to make - nails for the king’s ships. Iron had now become the principal - manufacture of Gloucestershire, and in the reign of Edward I. - there is stated to have been no less than 72 furnaces in the - Forest of Dean for smelting it. The largest establishments - of the Romans for the manufacture of iron in Britain were in - this county, but the method, whatever it may have been, which - they employed was imperfect and the cinders of their numerous - forges, wherever they are discovered, are found to contain - a very considerable portion of unsmelted metal. The first - smelting-furnace, and that which in all probability was used - by the Romans for the manufacture of iron, is supposed to be - the air-bloomery; it is described as a low conical structure, - with small openings at the bottom for the admission of air - and a large orifice at top for carrying off the gaseous - products of combustion. It was filled with charcoal and ore - in alternate layers, and the fire applied to the lowest part. - How long this simple contrivance continued in use we have no - means of ascertaining, the period to which it belongs being so - very remote; there is no doubt, however, that the next era of - improvement in the manufacture of iron was the introduction - of bellows, and the construction of the blast-bloomery, which - greatly facilitated the process of smelting, and, by allowing - the construction of larger furnaces, considerably increased - the manufacture. The blast-bloomery, in process of time and - the constant progression of the arts, was superseded by what - is denominated the blast-furnace. This last improvement is - supposed to have been introduced during the early part of the - sixteenth century; for in the seventeenth century the art of - casting in metal had arrived at a great degree of perfection, - and in the reign of Elizabeth there was a considerable export - trade of cast-iron ordnance to the Continent. - -As “by hammer and hand all arts do stand,” so was the origin of the -Blacksmiths’ Guild in the nineteenth year of the reign of Edward III., -1325. Like many others it is a fraternity by prescription, subsequently -incorporated by Royal Charter. “The Articles of the Blacksmiths,” dated -the 46th of Edward III., A.D. 1372, are enrolled in Letter-book G, fo. -285, preserved among the Guildhall records, and a most interesting and -concise translation will be found in Mr. Riley’s “Memorials of London,” -1868, p. 361. The Articles specially provide against the introduction -into the City of inferior foreign-made work, and the forging of -trademarks was, of course, a serious matter. “Every master in the said -trade shall put his own mark upon his work, such as heads of lances, -knives and axes, and other large work, that people may know who made them -in case default shall be found in the same.” Forgers of such mark were -dealt with without delay, and it is interesting to know that one of the -earliest of the overseers appointed resided near Holborn Bridge (now the -Viaduct), close to the Charity Trust Estate of the present Company. No -one was to be made free of the Guild unless he was skilled in his work -as an apprentice should be, so that we may be sure the early blacksmiths -truly represented their “art and mystery.” - -“The Ordinances of the Blacksmiths” are enrolled in the Guildhall -“Letter-book” H., fo. 292, and will be found translated in Mr. Riley’s -“Memorials,” p. 537. They are dated the 18 Richard 2nd, 1394. No smith -was to work throughout the night, or to annoy his neighbours, and the -hours of work were to be from 6 o’clock in the morning to 8 o’clock in -the evening in winter, and from the beginning of daylight to 9 o’clock at -night in summer. None to work in his shop on a Saturday, or on the eve -of a feast or holy day after the first stroke of the vesper bell, under -heavy fines and penalties. Two wardens to be annually elected for their -government, and strict search to be made in the City and suburbs for the -detection of false wares. No one to make a key for a lock unless he have -the lock to make it by, and nothing to be exposed for sale at any fair -until the wardens have certified it “good and lawful.” - -Forty years afterwards we find another enrolment, and among records -where such an entry would never be looked for—the Register Book of the -Commissary of London, labelled “Liber 3 More, 1418-1438,” folio 455, now -preserved in the Probate Registry, Somerset House. We are indebted to Mr. -J. R. Daniel-Tyssen for the discovery in 1852, and to Mr. H. C. Coote -for editing and printing them in the “Transactions of the London and -Middlesex Archæological Society,” Vol. IV., pp. 32-35. They are entitled— - - Ordynances articulis, and constituciones ordeyned and grarnted - by the Worshypfull Maistres and Wardeynes in the Worship of - the Bretherhed of Saynt Loye, att the Fest of Ester, with alle - the hole company of the crafte of blaksmythes, who assemble in - Seynt Thomas of Acres and thence to the Grey Freres of London. - Founded and ordeyned atte the Fest of Ester, 1434, 12 Henry VI. - -These ordinances provide—that every servant (brother) pay 2_d._ -quarterly, and every sister 1_d._ Strangers “for yncomyng,” pay 2_s._ -A beadle of the Yeomanry to be appointed who was to receive from every -brother “for his salari” one-halfpenny quarterly. “And whaune eny -brother other sisster be passed to God the seyd bedell to have for his -traveyle ij_d_.” Any member disobeying the orders “to be corrected be -the Oversseer,” and disobeying the second time he “schalbe put oute of -the crafte for evere.” New masters were to be chosen at the feast of -St. Loy. “If therbe eny brother that telleth the Counseyle of the seyd -Brethered to his master prentis or to eny other man he shall paye to the -box ij_s._” Any brother scandalising another to be fined 12_d._ “Also at -the quarter dai we will have baken conys as hit was be gonne.” Any master -breaking the rule to pay 6_s._ 8_d._ All fines were halved—a moiety each -to “the Mastres box,” and the Yeomen’s box. After some other orders -follow a list of the fellowship members, sixty-seven in number, headed by -John Lamborn, who was then, or had been, “Master of the Yomen.” Two of -those signing the rules were the wives of two of the brethren, Stephen -Manne and William Mapull. - -Although the Blacksmiths’ Guild was not in existence when St. Dunstan -played his harp, and worked at his forge and anvil, we cannot forbear -saying something about a prelate who has, more than any other, raised -the reputation of the “art and mystery,” which after 500 years still -flourishes within the boundaries of great London City, and at the time we -are writing this gives a splendid proof that it is not wanting in will or -way to attempt the improvement of the trade by advocating and supporting -technical education. - -Dunstan, to whose memory so many churches have been dedicated, was -born near Glastonbury, in county Somerset, and educated at the Abbey. -In subsequent years, when he passed a retired life, he built himself -a small cell, and enacted there (if tradition holds its own) one of, -if not the greatest miracle upon record. He was a favourite with King -Athelstan, whom he much pleased by musical performances on his harp, and -many astounding tales have been handed down to us about this instrument -playing without being touched, and rendering such musical and hitherto -unknown melody as enabled the humbler classes to be much imposed upon. -Dunstan died May 18, A.D. 988, so that he has been dead just 900 years. -And yet to-day is still recorded that marvellous meeting he once had with -“the evil one,” or, as we were told in our youth, the Devil. Many a time -did this tempter “try his hand” upon our musical blacksmith. He appeared -to him in every shape and form, even as a beautiful female, and certainly -to our mind the most likely “to draw.” Poor Dunstan in his little cell -at Glastonbury, whenever at his devotional practice as harpist, or using -his forge and anvil as blacksmith, was certain to receive a visit, and -his sweet song drowned by the black visitor’s unholy jeers. At last the -day of reckoning came, Dunstan seized a golden opportunity when his -tyrannical tormenter put in appearance at the very time his forge was at -work and his pincers hot. Little was said, no doubt, but the doings were -great—the greatest ever recorded of man’s work—for - - St. Dunstan, so the story goes, - Seized his sable Majesty by the nose, - And made him loudly roar; - So loud, indeed, from North to South, - From East to West, like from thunder’s mouth - It echoed a thousand miles and more. - -But the pulling of the evil one’s nose was but a part of the transaction, -for our blacksmith then and there pulled out his parchment and made -the enemy sign that famous declaration, never in future to molest Holy -Church or Holy men, and keep aloof of all buildings in which hang the -horseshoe. It is not many years ago that in two streets in London this -emblem of protection or “luck” may have been seen—Dudley Street, St. -Giles’s, and Dean Street, Fetter Lane—the latter place not a thousand -miles, but only a few yards, from where this account is printed. As for -the hammer, anvil and tongs of St. Dunstan, Mr. Lower in his notices of -the ironworks of Sussex, gives woodcuts of the three articles, said to be -“the famous originals, preserved at Mayfield in that county, so noted for -its iron. The anvil and tongs are of no great antiquity, but the hammer -with its iron handle may be considered a mediæval relic.” A few years ago -we attended a sale of curiosities of more than the usual interest, and -which were the lifelong attention of Mr. Snoxall, Charterhouse Square. -One of the lots was the original anvil and hammer of the “Harmonious -Blacksmith,” from which Handel composed his celebrated song, and we can -endorse, from a trial we made, the assertion of the MS. description that -Powell’s anvil produced B and E notes, as few anvils have done, or are -likely to do again. - -St. Dunstan is the patron saint of the Goldsmiths’ Company, and he -figures in their hall both in picture and in statue. The legend was a -favourite one in their Lord Mayor’s Show, especially in that of 1687, -when in the trade pageant the prelate seated on a chair of State, having -a golden mitre on his head, a crozier in one hand and tongs in the other, -surrounded by forges and anvils and blacksmith at work, taught the devil -the oft-repeated lesson not to intrude on forbidden ground. We might -multiply evidences of the popularity of the famous legend, but we have -said enough, and must proceed with our Company’s history. - -In the first year of the reign of Henry VII. (1485) both the Blacksmiths’ -and Spurriers’ guilds will be found in the list given by Campbell, vol. -i. p. 4; and a few years later, in 1502, standing in precedency the 36th -Company, the Blacksmiths had a livery of sixteen, and the Spurriers, -standing the 46th, had six. When Henry VIII. and Queen Katherine “shall -pass by towards their Coronation,” the same Companies sent members to -represent them, and in the eighth year of that King’s reign, 1517, it -was settled that in precedency in the future the Blacksmiths should be -the 41st Company and the Spurriers the 46th. There were then about sixty -Companies in the City, but of these ten were not in the “clothing,” that -is to say, had a livery. - -[Illustration: ST. DUNSTAN GIVES A PRACTICAL REMINDER OF THE POWER OF THE -HORSESHOE.] - -It was by Charter, dated April 20, 1571, that the two Companies were -united under the usual conditions of a body corporate and with the powers -and privileges of making ordinances for the government of the Company. -The Charter was confirmed by James I. in his second year, March 21, -1604-5. Meanwhile the precepts poured into the Blacksmiths as they did to -other Companies, and in May, 1595, out of 12,000 quarters of corn stored -at the Bridgehouse in the preceding November by the City Guilds, only -some 779 quarters remained, and ten of these belonged to this Company. -The Corn Custom, as described by Herbert, was a heavy tax, and often so -tyrannical was the system of levy that some of the wardens were sent to -prison in 1632 for neglecting to obey orders. - -In 1609 King James I. submitted to the City of London his scheme for the -plantation of the forfeited lands of the O’Neills and the O’Dohertys in -the province of Ulster in the North of Ireland; and the same King founded -a new order of Knighthood, purchasable by those desirous of helping -to maintain the authority of the King in future against the rebels in -Ireland. That order of Knighthood is the present Baronetage, and in proof -of its origin every person so titled bears in his shield of arms the red -hand of Ulster. The citizens of London paid James I., from first to last, -for their Ulster estates more than 60,000_l._ The difficulty then arose -as to the management, and so, in 1613, the whole property was partitioned -off into twelve shares (according to the sum subscribed by each of the -twelve principal Guilds, who, having raised 40,000_l._, showed that each -of the twelve had paid 3,333_l._ 6_s._ 8_d._). With the twelve principal -companies certain minor ones, having paid a certain sum, joined in the -scheme, and accordingly, the Blacksmiths, subscribing 64_l._ with seven -others, became associated with the Vintners, who held possession until -the year 1736, when they sold the whole estate, reserving only a rent -charge. - -There are many interesting documents extant relating to the Blacksmiths -and the Blacksmiths’ Company. We do not lack the will to publish all the -information we could give about their progress, but for the greatest of -all reasons—want of room, our space being but limited—we must limit our -notes to a few of the most important events. - -In 1607 Thomas Bickford, Master of the Company, prosecuted Nicholas Lowe -for carrying on the trade of a smith, he not being free of the City; and -in March, 1612, the curious controversy about Daubigny’s patent set all -the machinery of the Royal Commissioners and the City into high-pressure -activity. It appears that Clement Dawbney, _alias_ Daubigny, desired to -have a renewal of his patent for cutting iron into small rods, and that -restraint should be placed upon the importation of foreign iron so cut. -His petition to the Commissioners of Suits was backed by shipwrights, -masters, and nailmakers, who particularly condemned foreign iron. The -Commissioners, being unable to decide, referred the matter to three of -the City Companies, the Ironmongers, Blacksmiths, and Carpenters. The -record books of the Ironmongers contain many interesting details of -the inquiry made by that company into the question in dispute, and two -of the most active members in the debate were two of the Chamberlyn -family—George (then Master, in 1612) and Richard (who had been Master -two years previous). The Nailmakers reminded the Commissioners, “as the -fathers of the Commonwealth,” that a private patent deprived the poor -of their trade and labour; that one or two enriched themselves at the -cost of the many. “Wee allwaies have in evrie C. weight eleven or twelve -pounds of ends or refuse iron and pay for that after 2_d._ the lb., -whereof we make againe ever hardly a halfpenny for everie pound.” Also, -“We affirme as workmen that especially it is that the Flemmish iron is -as good and servicable and worketh as well as or owne English iron.” The -result was a temporary benefit, for the patent was called in; although -Sir Francis Bacon, one of the Commissioners, having made a special report -subsequently, in 1617, that the monopoly, or patent, would benefit not -only the Blacksmiths but the Nailmakers, and was only opposed by Burrell, -who had set up a similar ironworks at Danbury, the King renewed the -patent, December 11, 1618. The granting of similar monopolies caused no -end of bickerings and ill-feeling, and ruin was by no means uncommon -among those who neither had capital with which to defend their rights, -nor interest at Court to prevent that “bribery and corruption” so common -in the surroundings of our seventeenth century monarchy. When, in the -previous reign, the Earl of Oxford had endeavoured to obtain one of these -patents of privilege against the Company of Pewterers, “whereby he would -have undone the pewterers, their wives and families,” Queen Elizabeth -acted with discretion—not always a virtue with all-powerful royalty—for -she actually granted the Earl’s desired privilege to the company itself! - -We will now give a full copy of a petition which the Blacksmiths sent to -the Privy Council in December, 1631. It is directed to “The Right Honᵇˡᵉ -the Lords and others of His Maᵗʸˢ most Honᵇˡᵉ Privy Counsell,” by “the Mʳ -Wardens and Assistants of the Society of Blacksmiths, London”:— - - Humbly sheweth— - - That notwᵗʰstanding yoʳ petʳˢ great care and good endeavʳ - by making searches and orders, according to their oath and - charter, whereby to suppress disorders and abuses in deceitfull - working and making of ironwork, yet by the evill example and - refractorie of some ill-affected persons of their society, - whose names are here under menconed, their authority and orders - are slighted and disgraced, and many who have been heretofore - obedient and conformable doe now by their meanes continue - refractory and disorderly, and yoʳ petʳˢ and their charters are - so notoriously scandalised and abused that of themselves they - cannot reforme the same, nor have they any hope of redresse - therefore but by yoʳ honoʳˢ favor. - - They therefore most humbly beseeche yoʳ honoʳˢ to take their - great wrong and just grievance into yoʳ hoᵇˡᵉ considerations. - And to be pleased to send for the said disorderly and obstinate - persons hereunder named before you. And to take such order wᵗʰ - them for their conformity and obedience to the ordinances made - and to be made for the good governmᵗ of the said society and - prevencon. of deceits & abuses as to yʳ grave and hoᵇˡᵉ wisdome - shall seem meete. - - And they shall ever praye for yoʳ honoʳˢ. - -The names of the six disorderly Blacksmiths appear to have been:—George -Johnson, William Bickford, Hanns Garrett, Leonard Berars, William Browne, -and Henry Baily. Whether their nonconformity and other troubles led the -Company to obtain a new charter we know not, but it is quite clear they -did obtain one of Charles I., in his fourteenth year, and dated February -16, 1638-39. By this new grant all persons carrying on the business or -trade of a blacksmith or spurrier within the City of London or suburbs -four miles round were incorporated as “the Keepers or Wardens and Society -of the Art or Mystery of Blacksmiths, London,” to have four keepers or -wardens and twenty-one assistants, and to make by-laws and ordinances, -to examine all spurs, ironwork made, &c., within the City and four -miles round, and to hold lands to the extent of 30_l._ above the former -charter allowance of 30_l._ In accordance with this grant and power the -Company framed new orders (confirmed by the Judges), dated in December, -1640, and one of these allowed the Company to “call, nominate, choose, -and admit into the yeomanry of the said Society such and so many persons -being freemen of the said Society as they should think meet, honest, and -of ability to be called and admitted into the said yeomanry.” - -This shows that the Company anciently comprised the Livery, yeomanry, -and freemen, and the clerk believes that the freemen were the journeymen -and the yeomanry the master blacksmiths. Under the _Quo warranto_ writ -of Charles II. the Company surrendered with the other Guilds, but were -reinstated to their rights and privileges by James II. in the first year -of his reign by a charter dated March 18, 1684-85. - -The Act of Common Council of June 9, 1658, compelled all persons carrying -on the trade to be free of the Company. Fifty years later the Company -took special means to enforce it; but, like many of the other rights -and privileges of the Guilds, through the altered conditions of trading -the power of the Company has not been exercised for many years. The -following entry from the books of the Founders’ Company, as extracted by -Mr. Williams and printed in his “Annals,” is sufficiently interesting to -merit a place in our present notice of the Blacksmiths:— - - 1660, Sept. 3. Memorandum. - - That upon this day the mastʳ and wardens did visit all the - ffounders shopps in Bartholomew Lane and Lothebury—as well of - them that were free of the ffounders company as those of the - coppersmiths, and found in the shop of John Lucas one lock - of brass fitted in wᵗʰ 20 oz. of lead and one 4-lb. weight - unsealed, unsized, and unmarked with the owner’s stamp, which - work was brought into the Hall. - -Founders’ Hall stood in Lothbury (hence the name of Founders’ Hall -Court), and was let to the Electric Telegraph Company in 1853. The -Founders of Bartholomew Lane and Lothbury have long since departed to -other quarters of the City, and the sites of their ancient trading are -now occupied by the great monetary fraternities, the Bank of England and -other banks, and the Capel Court of the Stock Exchange. - -In May, 1750, the Committee of the Corporation of London specially -reported on several petitions presented by masters and journeymen -freemen, and it was resolved that the matters complained of required some -regulation; that the Court of Aldermen any Tuesday may have the power -to grant to any master freeman liberty to employ non-freemen, but under -certain restrictions; and that all proceedings and prosecutions rest in -the name of the Chamberlain, who, however, only represents the City, and -does not obtain any personal benefit under such action. - -[Illustration: THE “EVIL ONE” ON HIS ROUNDS SEES THE EFFECT OF THE TREATY. - -THE HORSESHOE PUTS TO FLIGHT THE DEVIL, AND PURSUES THE “EVIL ONE” AND -ALL HIS EVIL COMPANIONS.] - -According to the returns made to the Royal Commissioners, the -Blacksmiths’ Company now comprises four keepers or wardens, twenty-one -assistants, the Livery, and the yeomanry. The freedom of the Company -is obtainable by servitude (as an apprentice), by patrimony, and by -redemption. Formerly a quarterage of 4_s._ per annum was collected, -but this caused much trouble in the collection. Females were formerly -admitted, but none during the last twenty years. For thirty years -previous to 1833 the admissions or calls to the Livery were often one or -two only a year, the highest years being 1805, 1810, and 1818, when ten, -eleven, and ten respectively were admitted. During the same period the -freemen numbered from six to twenty a year; in 1813 and 1818 the actual -admittances were twenty-one. In 1834 about three-fifths of the Livery -were, or had been, smiths, and of the whole Company nearly one-half were -of the trade. - -There is one advantage in this Company—the calls to the Livery go by -rotation from the lists of the yeomanry, and according to seniority. -In 1882 there were eighty-three freemen and eighty-one liverymen. As -deaths take place a fresh “call” is made, although in the nine years -ending 1879 only thirty-two were admitted freemen. Another difficulty has -arisen as regards apprentices; only three were admitted in the past ten -years. Persons, even freemen, have been led astray by the “know-nothings” -of society, and have simply been persuaded to believe that the City -apprenticeship is now of no value. We know different; and hence we -heartily applaud the endeavours of the Company of Blacksmiths and their -energetic clerk, Mr. W. B. Garrett, in holding the exhibition in 1889 in -the Ironmongers’ Hall, and promoting technical education among the rising -generation of the trade, art, or mystery. The Corporation of London also -proposes to make the “indenture” more conformable to the times, and this, -too, is a step in the right direction. - -The Blacksmiths’ Company now holds its meetings at Guildhall. Formerly -they met in the Blacksmiths’ Hall standing on Lambeth Hill, Doctors’ -Commons, which in Hughson’s time (1806) was “a much neglected -structure,” and yet “a good brick building with very convenient and -stately apartments.” This building formed part of the City lands of the -Corporation of London, and by indenture dated in February, 1746, was -granted on a forty years’ lease by the City to “the Wardens, Keepers, -and Society of the Mystery or Art of the Blacksmiths.” It is described -as situate in the parish of St. Mary Magdalene, Old Fish Street, having -a frontage to Lambeth Hill of 76 feet 6 inches, and then used by the -Company as their hall, &c. When the lease expired, the Blacksmiths held -their meetings, as we have said, at Guildhall, and do so still. - -The return made to the Commissioners of 1880 states, “The Company is not -possessed of plate, pictures or furniture,” but a loving cup, in private -hands, of silver, was presented to the Company by Christopher Pym, upon -his admission as clerk in 1665. The front of the stem that supports the -bowl is occupied by a figure of Vulcan as a smith at his anvil, on which -is engraved the motto of the Company, “By Hammer and Hand all Arts doe -Stand.” On the outside of the bowl are also engraved the Company’s arms, -which were confirmed by Sir William Segar, Garter, June 24, 1610. - -_Arms_: Sa. a chev. or. between 3 hammers ar. handled of the second, -ducally crowned of the last. - -_Crest_: On a wreath a mount vert; thereon a phœnix with wings indorsed -proper, firing herself with the sunbeams of the last. - -The motto of the Company in ancient times was: “As God will so be it.” - -The Blacksmiths’ is not a rich corporation, and the only charity it -possesses is that founded by Edward Prestyn in June 1557. He left five -houses in Fleet Lane and Old Bailey, charged with the simple trust for -the bestowal of 4_s._ per annum among “the poor artists” of the Company. -As a proof that the Company carry out the trust in accordance with the -spirit which prompts right-minded citizens, the Blacksmiths receive a -rental from these premises of 136_l._ a year, and yet pay away in charity -12_l._ per annum each to twelve poor persons of the Company, being 8_l._ -more than the amount received! This would appear to be a mystery were -it not explained that the Company privately purchased some other small -properties, the rents from which help to keep themselves in existence, -and enable them to augment the pensions of their poorer brethren. - -We cannot omit to say a word or two about another society which bears -the arms and the motto of the London Guilds, but is known as the Smiths’ -Company of Newcastle-on-Tyne. Like the Blacksmiths, the Smiths are an -ancient fraternity, for its earliest ordinance is dated 1436, and among -the peculiar enactments was that no Scotchman should be taken as an -apprentice, or allowed to work for a member under a penalty of 40_s._—a -large sum in those days. In 1664 the branches of the trade represented -on the Company were numerous, and in 1677 they were incorporated, having -four wardens (one to be an anchor-smith), and twelve assistants, four of -each to represent anchor-smiths, locksmiths, and farriers’-blacksmiths. -Their hall adjoined the Blackfriars in Newcastle; the ground-floor room, -a chapel, was the room in which homage was done by the Scottish King to -the King of England. In 1824 there were seventy-seven members belonging -to this Smiths’ Company. - -There have been many noteworthy members of the Blacksmiths’ Guilds, -although the custom of the City in olden time compelled the chief -Magistrate to be “one of the twelve.” Consequently the names of those -citizens in this Company who have served the offices of Lord Mayor and -sheriffs have been limited, and so far as we can learn the earliest only -dates back to the end of the last century, when Thomas Baker, exactly a -century ago—in 1789—was one of “the eyes of the Mayor” (as Stow quaintly -describes the sheriffs), serving in the mayoralty of the celebrated -William Pickett, who originated the grand improvement without Temple Bar, -a full account of which will be found in the “Memorials” of that edifice -published in 1869. The late Alderman James Abbiss was a Blacksmith, and -one of the sheriffs in 1859, and in turn would have served as Lord Mayor -had not illness compelled him to resign his gown. - -We have numerous interesting references to the wills and other evidences -of the Blacksmiths of old London, but want of space prevents even a -summary. Two only, and these a century apart, are sufficiently curious to -mention. William Reason, in 1568, left his livery-gowns to his brother -and cousin, and to his apprentice William one of the vices in his shop -and half of his files and tools. Industrious apprentices were thought of -by their masters in those days. “And furder,” continues Mr. Reason, “I -bequeathe to the Company of Blackesmythes being of the lyvery that shall -attende upon my bodye to the buriall for a repaste or drincking to be had -and bestowed amongst them twentie shillings.” The citizens of old London -never expected their brethren to work for nothing, and funerals with the -City Companies, especially with those who possessed halls, were of daily -occurrence, as a reference to the “Diary of Henry Machyn,” 1550-1563, -printed by the Camden Society in 1848, will amply prove. In 1674 William -Rawlings, who requested to be buried in St. Stephen’s Church, Coleman -Street, and possessed much property about London, was a benefactor to the -poor of Bromley and Bow, Middlesex. Joseph Thornhill, also a Blacksmith, -who was buried at Hampstead, left by will in 1718 all his property -adjacent to the well-known “Pindar of Wakefield,” St. Pancras, and in -which house he some time dwelt, in trust for the benefit of his two -daughters. An account of this celebrated tavern and tea-gardens will be -found at page 58 of Pinks and Wood’s “History of Clerkenwell.” - -Finally, we can but echo the sentiments expressed in the return to the -Royal Commissioners in 1880:—“The objects of the establishment of the -Blacksmiths’ Guild were (1) the promotion of good fellowship; (2) the -protection and encouragement of the trade the name of which is borne -by the Company;” and that the present Company “do all that is in their -power” to attain the objects of such foundation whenever opportunity -presents itself. The opportunity has been given them in A.D. 1889 to -promote technical education by holding an exhibition at Ironmongers’ -Hall, and, as it is their first effort, so do we sincerely hope it is the -forerunner of many successful ones in the future. - - - - -THE EXHIBITION. - -(_Reprinted from THE IRONMONGER, March 30, 1889._) - - -The exhibition of articles specially applicable to the blacksmith’s art -has been held this week in the Ironmongers’ Hall, Fenchurch Street. When -a month ago (February 23) we called attention to the competition that had -been opened by the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths, we expressed a hope -that, although it was their first effort, it might prove a successful -one; and it is a pleasure to us to be able to chronicle that a most -valuable and interesting proof has been given that on English soil there -are still to be found journeymen and industrious apprentices who can turn -out “by hammer and hand” some very creditable work. - -Like most of the first exhibitions that have been held for the promotion -of technical education, the Blacksmiths’ has not been an extensive one. -Only twenty-eight exhibitors sent in specimens, and only two dozen of -these were competitors. But, if the quantity was small, the quality was -good, and, we must say, far exceeded our expectations. Each exhibit was -limited in weight to 20 lbs., so that the entire collection was easily -arranged upon tables, &c., in the court-room of the Ironmongers’ Company, -who had willingly lent their brother-blacksmiths a most interesting -apartment, which effectively added to the exhibition. - -The exhibits comprised works by apprentices or youths, and works by -journeymen—in the former three sections, and two prizes offered in -each; in the latter three prizes. The apprentices or youths were in the -respective sections not to exceed seventeen, nineteen, or twenty-one -years of age, “the work to be pure hammer-work of his own production -of any article of ornament or utility.” The journeymen’s work was to -be specially “table ornamentation or panel,” the three prizes being -10_l._, 7_l._ 10_s._, and 5_l._, both apprentices and journeymen to have -a certificate of merit in addition. The majority of the exhibitors were -of the metropolis, but in a few instances the North, even as far off as -Midlothian, sent competitors. - -The judges met at Ironmongers’ Hall on Tuesday last to inspect the -exhibits, and were in several instances sorely tried, for most of the -work sent in was, as we stated, very creditable. The Blacksmiths called -to their aid skilled practical craftsmen outside their own body, so that -the decisions arrived at must be considered eminently satisfactory. The -general public viewed the exhibits on Wednesday and Thursday, and on -Friday (yesterday) afternoon the prizes were awarded to the successful -competitors in the fine Hall of the Ironmongers in the presence of a -numerous company. The following were the successful recipients:— - -APPRENTICES AND YOUTHS. - - 1.—A. Harvey, 33 Marsham Street, Westminster, gas-bracket. - First prize, first section, 3_l._ - - 2.—Arthur Beaver, 4 Victoria Terrace, Kilburn, electric - table-lamp. Second prize, first section, 2_l._ - - 3.—J. B. Imison, 31 Rowena Crescent, Battersea, - suspending-lamps. First prize, second section, 4_l._ and medal. - - 4.—C. Baker, 17 South Wharf Road, Paddington, three-candle - bracket. Second prize, second section, 3_l._ - - 5.—A. W. Elwood, 9 Kennington Park Gardens, two panels, 40 × - 10½. First prize, third section, 5_l._ - - 6.—F. Burkitt, 4 Great Suffolk Street, Southwark, three-candle - stand. Second prize, third section, 4_l._ and medal. - -JOURNEYMEN. - - 1.—G. Snailum, 66 Clarendon Road, Hornsey, panel, 36 × 13½. - First prize, 10_l._ - - 2.—H. Ross, 13 Melton Street, N.W., bracket and oil-lamp. - Second prize, 7_l._ 10_s._ - - 3.—T. R. Kendall, 11 Haymerle Road, Peckham, suspending-lamp - holder, third prize, 5_l._ - -In the preface to their list of exhibits the Company (through their -energetic clerk, Mr. W. B. Garrett) appeal to exhibitors: - - The Blacksmiths’ Company initiate this exhibition in the hope - that British workmen will once more come to the front, and show - that they can make as good and as elegant articles, both for - use and ornament, as can the foreign artisan. Many persons who - visited the Italian Exhibition last year saw what that country - could produce, and must have been struck by the number of - articles in ornamental ironwork sold, and, in many instances, - in which copies were ordered. Why does not the English workman - endeavour to follow—shall I not say lead?—in such work, and so - retain in this country a growing and profitable industry? - -We can endorse this appeal, and hope that the first exhibition may be -but the forerunner of many others, each to be more successful than its -predecessor. - -The Blacksmiths expressed their best thanks to the Ironmongers for so -kindly lending their hall, as also to Sir P. C. Owen and his staff at -the South Kensington Museum for sending on loan a most interesting and -valuable collection of ancient ironwork, chiefly of the fifteenth, -sixteenth, and seventeenth century. Among the articles exhibited were:— - - Keys of various countries. - Fire-dog (Venetian), sixteenth century. - Prow of a gondola, fifteenth century. - Knocker (Italian), fifteenth century. - Knocker (German), about 1600. - Candlesticks and snuffer-stands. - Locks, various dates. - -One of the wardens of the Blacksmiths’ Company, Mr. J. F. Clarke, -sent for exhibition several interesting articles, including a large -representation of the armorial shield of the Company, whose motto is: “By -Hammer and Hand all Arts do Stand.” - - -SPOTTISWOODE & CO., PRINTERS, NEW STREET SQUARE, LONDON, E.C. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WORSHIPFUL -COMPANY OF IRONMONGERS*** - - -******* This file should be named 60091-0.txt or 60091-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/0/0/9/60091 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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(Theophilus Charles) Noble</title> -<link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> -<style type="text/css"> - -a { - text-decoration: none; -} - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - -h1,h2,h3,h4 { - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -hr { - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - clear: both; -} - -hr.tb { - width: 45%; - margin-left: 27.5%; - margin-right: 27.5%; -} - -hr.chap { - width: 65%; - margin-left: 17.5%; - margin-right: 17.5%; -} - -ul { - list-style-type: none; -} - -li { - margin-top: .5em; - padding-left: 2em; - text-indent: -2em; -} - -p { - margin-top: 0.5em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: 0.5em; - text-indent: 1em; -} - -table { - margin: 1em auto 1em auto; - max-width: 40em; - border-collapse: collapse; -} - -td { - padding-left: 2.25em; - padding-right: 0.25em; - vertical-align: top; - text-indent: -2em; - text-align: justify; -} - -.tdc { - text-align: center; - padding-top: 0.75em; -} - -.tdr { - text-align: right; - white-space: nowrap; -} - -.tdpg { - vertical-align: bottom; - text-align: right; - white-space: nowrap; -} - -.blockquote { - margin: 1.5em 10%; -} - -.caption { - text-align: center; - margin-bottom: 1em; - font-size: 90%; - text-indent: 0em; -} - -.center { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; -} - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -.fm { - margin: auto; - max-width: 30em; -} - -.hanging { - padding-left: 2em; - text-indent: -2em; -} - -.larger { - font-size: 150%; -} - -.noindent { - text-indent: 0em; -} - -.pagenum { - position: absolute; - right: 4%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; -} - -.poetry-container { - text-align: center; - margin: 1em; -} - -.poetry { - display: inline-block; - text-align: left; -} - -.poetry .verse { - text-indent: -3em; - padding-left: 3em; -} - -.poetry .indent8 { - text-indent: 5em; -} - -.right { - text-align: right; -} - -.smaller { - font-size: 80%; -} - -.smcap { - font-variant: small-caps; - font-style: normal; -} - -.smcapuc { - font-variant: small-caps; - font-style: normal; - text-transform: lowercase; -} - -.titlepage { - text-align: center; - margin-top: 3em; - text-indent: 0em; -} - -.valign { - vertical-align: middle; -} - -@media handheld { - -img { - max-width: 100%; - width: auto; - height: auto; -} - -.poetry { - display: block; - margin-left: 1.5em; -} - -.blockquote { - margin: 1.5em 5%; -} -} - - table.pg { max-width: 80%; } - hr.full { width: 100%; - margin-top: 3em; - margin-bottom: 0em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - height: 4px; - border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */ - border-style: solid; - border-color: #000000; - clear: both; } - </style> -</head> -<body> -<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Brief History of the Worshipful Company of -Ironmongers, by T. C. (Theophilus Charles) Noble, Illustrated by George -Cruikshank</h1> -<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States -and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no -restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at <a -href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you are not -located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this ebook.</p> -<p>Title: A Brief History of the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers</p> -<p> London A.D. 1351-1889, with an Appendix Containing Some Account of the Blacksmiths' Company</p> -<p>Author: T. C. (Theophilus Charles) Noble</p> -<p>Release Date: August 12, 2019 [eBook #60091]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: UTF-8</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF IRONMONGERS***</p> -<p> </p> -<h4>E-text prepared by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> - (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br /> - from page images generously made available by<br /> - Internet Archive<br /> - (<a href="https://archive.org">https://archive.org</a>)</h4> -<p> </p> -<table class="pg" border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - <a href="https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofwo00nobl"> - https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofwo00nobl</a> - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[i]</a></span></p> - -<div class="fm"> - -<p class="center larger"><span class="smaller">THE</span><br /> -<span class="larger">WORSHIPFUL COMPANY<br /> -of IRONMONGERS,</span><br /> -MARCH, 1889.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="center">HENRY MAUDSLAY, Esq., <i>Master</i>.<br /> -EDWARD HADHAM NICHOLL, Esq., <i>Senior Warden</i>.<br /> -JAMES LANGTON, Esq., <i>Junior Warden</i>.</p> - -<p class="center">(Who, with 44 others, form the Livery and Court.)</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="center">T. C. NOBLE, <i>Warden of the Yeomanry</i>.</p> - -<p class="center">(Who, with 260 others, constitutes the remaining Freemen -or Yeomanry.)</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="center">R. C. ADAMS BECK, Esq., <i>Clerk</i>.<br /> -Rev. R. M. BAKER, <i>Chaplain</i>.<br /> -Mr. R. ROBERTS, <i>Surveyor</i>.<br /> -Mr. C. W. McCONACHY, <i>Beadle</i>.</p> - -<p class="center">(With other Officers.)</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[ii]</a></span></p> - -<div class="fm"> - -<p class="hanging"><i>The following separately-printed Works (among others) -by <span class="smcap">T. C. Noble</span> may be consulted in the British -Museum or Guildhall Library</i>:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="hanging"><b>The Lord Mayor of London.</b> 1860.</p> - -<p class="hanging"><b>Memorials of Temple Bar, with Some Account of Fleet Street.</b> -1869.</p> - -<p class="hanging"><b>A Ramble Round the Crystal Palace.</b> 1875.</p> - -<p class="hanging"><b>A Brief Account of the Westminster Tobacco-box.</b> 1879.</p> - -<p class="hanging"><b>A Caxton Memorial.</b> 1880.</p> - -<p class="hanging"><b>A Brief Memorial of W. F. Bray.</b> 1880.</p> - -<p class="hanging"><b>Biographical Notices of Thomas Wood, D.D., Bishop of Lichfield.</b> -1882.</p> - -<p class="hanging"><b>An Historical Essay on the Rise and Fall of the Spanish -Armada, 1588.</b> 1886.</p> - -</div> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[iii]</a></span></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[iv]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;" id="plate1"> -<img src="images/plate1.jpg" width="700" height="215" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Arms of the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers.</span></p> -<p class="caption">(<a href="#Page_14">See page 14.</a>)</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[v]</a></span></p> - -<p class="titlepage larger">A BRIEF HISTORY<br /> -<span class="smaller">OF</span><br /> -THE WORSHIPFUL<br /> -COMPANY OF IRONMONGERS<br /> -<span class="smaller">LONDON<br /> -A.D. 1351-1889</span></p> - -<p class="titlepage"><span class="smaller">WITH</span><br /> -AN APPENDIX CONTAINING SOME ACCOUNT OF<br /> -THE BLACKSMITHS’ COMPANY</p> - -<p class="titlepage smaller">BY<br /> -<span class="larger">T. C. NOBLE</span><br /> -WARDEN OF THE YEOMANRY OF THE IRONMONGERS’ COMPANY<br /> -1888-1889</p> - -<p class="titlepage"><i>WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS BY GEORGE CRUIKSHANK<br /> -AND OTHERS</i></p> - -<p class="titlepage">London<br /> -PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY<br /> -<span class="smcap">March 1889</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[vi]</a></span></p> - -<p class="titlepage smaller">PRINTED BY<br /> -SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE<br /> -LONDON</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span></p> - -<h2>PREFACE.</h2> - -<p>To my brother Ironmongers, “root and branch,” I dedicate -this “brief history” of our ancient Guild. Notwithstanding -the innumerable facts printed in the following pages, the -work must only be considered as an historical essay upon -the tenth of the twelve “great” Livery Companies of the -City of London. A more elaborate compilation is in progress, -and if my life is spared to complete it that work will -contain the labour of love collections during the past quarter -of a century of an extensive—I may say unique—assortment -of manuscripts and other papers relating to the City, -its Companies, and its Institutions, which will prove, I have -every reason to believe, a most interesting and valuable civic -record.</p> - -<p>The present publication has taken place now for several -reasons, some of which I may as well explain. Before -J. P. Malcolm printed the interesting extracts from the Ironmongers’ -records in the second volume of his “Londinium -Redivivum,” 1803, very little was known by the general -public about this ancient City Guild. He was followed by -William Herbert, the Guildhall Librarian, in 1834-36, who -published a “History of the Twelve Great Livery Companies,” -with a most valuable introductory essay. Both of -these works are now scarce. In 1851 John Nicholl, Esq, -F.S.A., a Member of the Court of the Ironmongers’ Company, -compiled his “Some Account” of the Guild, taken from their -own records, and this choice volume he enlarged and printed -in 1866. There were, however, only 150 copies circulated -among the Livery and their friends, consequently this history -is more scarce than those issued by Malcolm and Herbert.</p> - -<p>When I was elected Yeomanry Warden at Easter, 1888, in -commemoration of the fact that I was one of the Committee -of the Spanish Armada Tercentenary (Plymouth and London) -Commemoration, about which Armada I had published an -essay in 1886, and that the Ironmongers’ Company had -contributed towards the defence of the kingdom exactly -three centuries previous; that the year 1889 was by a curious -coincidence the 700th anniversary of the City Mayoralty; -that several eminent Lord Mayors had been citizens and Ironmongers; -that from my own personal knowledge a large -percentage of the present members of the Yeomanry know -very little of the history of their Guild, or about their -ancient predecessors; and last, but not least, that the -facilities afforded to me by the Editor of the well-known -trade journal, <span class="smcap">The Ironmonger</span>, for the publication in its -columns during the past three months of this “brief history,”<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span> -which has had a circulation not second to any other weekly -throughout the world, prompted me to forward a long-cherished -project of compiling for my brethren a short -history, and thus commemorate their kindness for electing -me their representative. The unexpected opportunity of -holding a most enthusiastic meeting on St. Luke’s Day, 1888, -at the London Tavern, opposite Ironmongers’ Hall (our Hall -being temporarily closed), enabled me, as their Warden, to -give to my brother Ironmongers the first historical discourse -relating to the Company (see Chapter VI.), and it helped to -comfort their disappointment in being unable to meet in -their own Hall upon the anniversary of the day they had -assembled therein for nearly three hundred years.</p> - -<p>Then, again, there are some personal reasons worth mentioning. -A citizen born, the great-grandson of an eighteenth-century -engineer and ironfounder, the grandson of a ship-owner, -newspaper proprietor, and possessor of the historical -property in the district which he named King’s Cross, and -where to this day several of the great “iron roads” of -England meet, and the son of a publisher and bookseller of -Fleet Street, whose memory and that of my birthplace I -commemorated in 1869 in the “Memorials” of the neighbourhood—in -which year, too, by another remarkable -coincidence, I was honoured by being admitted a member of -the Ironmongers’ Company without the payment of fees—an -honour only conferred on those who perform their duty to -their fellow-citizens.</p> - -<p>When the then member for Cork City asked Parliament -twenty years ago to seize the estates of the Companies in -Ireland, I was fortunately enabled by my knowledge of the -subject to assist in the defeat of this wild, revolutionary -scheme of seizing property personally paid for by the -ancestors of the citizens of London. It was the Hon. the -Irish Society and the Companies who voted me their thanks, -and it was my two ever-revered friends, John Nicholl, our -historian, and S. Adams Beck, our then clerk (the father of -our present zealous official)—the memory of whom will long -remain dear, for their portraits hang side by side in our -Court-room—it was their kind notice of my humble efforts, -and their repeated good advice, which helped me to the -honour I so highly valued, and led me to be ever watchful -of our rights and privileges.</p> - -<p>Thirty years ago my said dear friend John Nicholl was -Master of the Company (he died in 1871), and this year his -son is our Senior Warden, and (I trust) our next Master. -We wish him every best wish, we heartily pray that the -Almighty will bless us all, and that “the Worshipful Company -of Ironmongers, root and branch,” may be permitted to -“flourish for ever.”</p> - -<p class="smaller">Dalston, London, March, 1889.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">T. C. Noble</span>,<br /> -Warden of the Yeomanry,<br /> -1888-1889.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>CONTENTS</h2> - -<table summary="Contents"> - <tr> - <td class="tdr smaller">CHAPTER</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdpg smaller">PAGE</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">I.—</td> - <td>The Old City, its Citizens and Guilds</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">II.—</td> - <td>Iron, Ironworks, and Ironmongers</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">6</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">III.—</td> - <td>The Worshipful Company of Ironmongers</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">11</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">IV., V., VI.—</td> - <td>Four Hundred Years of the Ironmongers’ History</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">19-40</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VII.—</td> - <td>The Apprentices, the Hall, and the Irish Estate</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">41</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VIII.—</td> - <td>The Ironmongers’ Charities and Charitable Ironmongers</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">51</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdc" colspan="3">APPENDIX.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"></td> - <td>Some Account of the Blacksmiths’ Company and their Exhibition at Ironmongers’ Hall</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#APPENDIX">61-74</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2> - -<table summary="Contents"> - <tr> - <td class="tdr smaller">PLATE</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdpg smaller">PAGE</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">I.—</td> - <td><a href="#plate1"><i>Frontispiece</i></a>: Arms of the Ironmongers’ Company</td> - <td class="tdpg"></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">II.—</td> - <td>(<i>a</i>) The Old Church of Allhallows Staining, - Mark Lane, 1807, now removed (except - the tower), and the parish united with St. - Olave, Hart Street; Ironmongers’ Hall is - in the parish of Allhallows</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#plate2">1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"></td> - <td>(<i>b</i>) The Church of St. Luke’s, Old Street, Middlesex, - 1807; erected on land part of the - Ironmongers’ estate; consecrated on St. - Luke’s Day, 1733</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#plate2">1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">III.—</td> - <td>(<i>a</i>) One of the ancient silver-gilt salt-cellars</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#plate3">12</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"></td> - <td>(<i>b</i>) One of two fifteenth-century maple-wood - mazer-bowls, with silver-gilt mountings</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#plate3">12</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">IV.—</td> - <td>A cocoa-nut cup, or hanap, of sixteenth-century - date, with silver-gilt bands and mountings, - and 8½ inches high</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#plate4">18</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">V.—</td> - <td>(<i>a</i>) The “Estridge,” or ostrich, carved in wood, - about 4 feet high, which was used in the - Lord Mayor’s pageant of 1629, and now - preserved at the Hall; it has a horseshoe - in its beak</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#plate5">26</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"></td> - <td>(<i>b</i>) A bronze token representing the fourteen - almshouses erected under Sir Robert - Geffery’s trust, in the Kingsland Road, - 1713-1714</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#plate5">26</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VI.—</td> - <td>The hearse-cloth, or Ironmongers’ funeral pall, of - crimson velvet and cloth-of-gold tissue, - the gift of John Gyva, 1515, 6 feet 5 inches - long by 22 inches wide; the centre of - each side represents “The Blessed Virgin - Mary in Glory”—Plate I.</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#plate6">34</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VII.—</td> - <td>(<i>a</i>, <i>b</i>, <i>c</i>) Ditto, Plate II.—The Three Saints</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#plate7">42</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">VIII.—</td> - <td>Ditto, Plate III.—Monstrance at each end</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#plate8">50</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">IX.—</td> - <td>(<i>a</i>) The Devil gives St. Dunstan a morning call</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#plate9">60</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"></td> - <td>(<i>b</i>) St. Dunstan compels the “Evil One” to sign - a treaty of peace</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#plate9">60</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">X.—</td> - <td>St. Dunstan gives a practical reminder of the - power of the horseshoe</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#plate10">65</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">XI.—</td> - <td>(<i>a</i>) The “Evil One” on his rounds sees the effect - of the treaty</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#plate11">69</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"></td> - <td>(<i>b</i>) The horseshoe puts to flight the Devil and - pursues the “Evil One” and all his evil - companions</td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#plate11">69</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 375px;" id="plate2"> -<img src="images/plate2.jpg" width="375" height="700" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Old Church of Allhallows Staining, Mark Lane, -London, 1807.</span> (<a href="#Page_45">See page 45.</a>)</p> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Church of St. Luke the Evangelist, Old Street, Middlesex, -1807.</span> (<a href="#Page_57">See page 57.</a>)</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> - -<h1>A BRIEF HISTORY<br /> -<span class="smaller">OF THE</span><br /> -IRONMONGERS’ COMPANY.</h1> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE OLD CITY, ITS CITIZENS AND GUILDS.</span></h2> - -<p>In the history of the ancient Livery Companies of London -we read the history and progress of not only the City -but the Empire. During the many centuries of their existence -the Guilds have performed a work for which they -deserve the praise and continued support of not only every -citizen, but every man who to-day enjoys the freedom of -local self-government. There have been kings and prime -ministers who, in their tyrannical measures, have forgotten -the interests of the people and their trades in their desire to -gain unlawful ends, but in every case for hundreds of years -the citizens and the Guilds of London have stood forward to -fight the great battles for freedom, and the continued and -present existence of the Corporation of the ancient City, and -the good work they do to-day, prove, if we carefully read -their history, that to them we are more deeply indebted than -“reformers” choose to acknowledge.</p> - -<p>Generations ago “the City” was a very small place, surrounded -by a wall with gates, through which the green fields -and suburbs—then the pleasant villages of Southwark, -Charing, St. Giles, Clerkenwell, Islington, Shoreditch, and -the Tower Hamlets and Stepney—could be reached. These -gates stood at or near the entrances of the present streets -known as Moorgate, Cripplegate, Aldersgate, Newgate, -Ludgate, Billingsgate, Aldgate, and Bishopsgate, so that the -reader can judge what the size of old London was. On the -south side there was the River Thames with its Dowgate, -and between this water-gate and Billingsgate was the entrance -across the only bridge that then spanned the river, which -existed close to where St. Magnus Church now stands—a few -yards east of the present London Bridge. In the suburbs -were many excellent springs of water, known as Holywells, -and at one of these the parish clerks of the City assembled -periodically and held their festivals. The well existed till -late years in Ray Street, close to the Middlesex Sessions -House, and the district is now known as Clerkenwell. The -Parish Clerks’ Company, although not a livery guild, still -exists, and is one of the oldest of the Guilds.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p> - -<p>It was long before the time of famous John Stow that -London found a contemporary topographer, for as early as -the year 1179—now 710 years ago—William Fitzstephen -tells us the citizens everywhere “are esteemed the politest of -all others in their manners, their dress, and the elegance and -splendour of their tables,” and he pictures us the City in all -its primitive grandeur, while the citizens themselves were -dignified by the name of barons, a fact borne out by -their description in King John’s charter. Speaking of -this charter reminds us that a brief epitome of the principal -grants, from the Conquest to the reign of Edward IV., when -the Ironmongers’ Company received its incorporation, will -help the reader to more easily comprehend the progress of -the citizens and the Guilds.</p> - -<p>There is no document more treasured at Guildhall than -the diminutive parchment which William the Conqueror gave -to the citizens 800 years ago, and upon which we all base our -rights and privileges.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 18em;"> -<p class="noindent">I will that ye be worthy<br /> -of all those laws which<br /> -ye were in King Edward’s day;<br /> -and I will that each child<br /> -be his father’s heir after his<br /> -father’s day, and I will not<br /> -suffer that any man do you<br /> -wrong. God preserve you.</p> -</div> - -<p>In the Confessor’s time “the burgesses” of London had -obtained the king’s warrant for their freedom, and their -children’s heirship, so that their lives and their goods should -be protected from the rapacity of the Lords. The foreign -merchant was only permitted in the City as a lodger, and -was strictly forbidden from selling his wares by retail and -underselling and infringing the rights of his entertainer, the -citizen. Thus do we see nearly a thousand years ago a precaution -taken which we to-day are still clamouring for!</p> - -<p>King Henry I., for a quit rent of 300<i>l.</i> per annum, granted -the citizens the Sheriffwick of Middlesex, which 750 years -later has been taken from them. The same monarch also -granted them the privilege of hunting, and it is probably -through this right the Londoners obtained of late years, for -ever, Epping Forest as an open space.</p> - -<p>Being dependent upon the king, before the days of charter -rights the citizens were often sorely fleeced upon the slightest -pretence, and in order to protect themselves they in process -of time formed guilds or fraternities of different trades. -Richard I. freed them from toll and lestage throughout -England, and gave them the conservancy of the River Thames, -which right was taken from them some thirty years ago. Of -course King John enlarged their privileges in 1199, for the -City paid him 3,000 marks, and kings would do anything if -you paid them handsomely. Five charters out of eight -granted by Henry III. cost them one-fifteenth of their estate, -and for another, dated 1265, they paid 13,000<i>l.</i> We mention -this to show that having bought these privileges it is unreasonable -to deprive them of their rights without compensation, -and yet this question is never properly understood or -thought of.</p> - -<p>In the fifth charter granted by King John (1214) the -citizens of London received the privilege of choosing their -own Mayor from among themselves, and it is to this right -many of the livery companies owe their foundation. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span> -first Edward permitted the Chief Magistrate to be sworn in -before the Constable at the Tower should the king or his -judges be absent from London; and, furthermore, no stranger -was to be admitted to the City freedom unless six honest -and sufficient members of a mystery or trade be surety. In -1311 Edward II. exempted the citizens from service outside -the City in the time of war or tumult, and for this privilege -the king was favoured with a gift of 2,000 marks.</p> - -<p>To King Edward III. the citizens are indebted for many of -their most valued privileges. Thus, in 1327, the Mayor was -instituted one of the judges in trials at the Old Bailey -(Newgate), the right to bring felons from any part of -England and to their goods, the right of devising in Mortmain -and forbidding the holding of markets within seven -miles of the City. And in order to give them control over -such persons as escaped to Southwark to avoid justice, that -ancient village was added to the City liberties (and subsequently -designated Bridge Ward Without). In 1337 the -same king confirmed the rights and privileges, forbidding -“foreign” merchant traders retailing in the City and acting -as brokers; and in 1354 granted a fifth charter, permitting -the Mayor to have gold or silver maces carried before him, -from which time the title of Lord Mayor of London has been -assumed by London’s Chief Magistrate.</p> - -<p>Edward IV. was not behind his predecessors in favouring -the citizens, but then it must be noted they paid him some -12,000<i>l.</i> for four charters. In 1462 the Mayor, ex-Mayors, -and Recorder were all made perpetual justices, and were -exempted from serving on juries, &c., while Bartholomew -Fair, with a court of Pie Poudre, was to be held in Smithfield. -And in 1478 they obtained the right of electing a -coroner, and for wine-gauging, &c. As it was Edward IV. -who granted the Ironmongers their charter, we have traced -the progress of the City privileges so far, and leave the -Ironmongers’ records to tell the tale of subsequent progress.</p> - -<p>In the course of the preceding remarks the citizens have -been so continually alluded to, that a few notes about them -and what really constituted a citizen will not be out of place -here. In the first place, we think it is not generally known -that every member of a City Company is a citizen of London, -but every citizen is not a member of a Company. There are -two grades of citizens—one free of the City only; the other -free of both City and Company, the latter freeman being -designated as “citizen and ironmonger,” or whatever Company -he may belong to. As the elections or admissions to -all the Companies are the same, that describing the admission -to the Ironmongers’ will be found in a subsequent chapter of -our history.</p> - -<p>In all the early charters the general term is “citizens,” but -the Conqueror calls them “burhwarn” (inhabitants or -burgesses of the borough), and John and Henry III. call -them “barons.” The citizens or freemen were the men or -inhabitants of free condition and householders, in contradistinction -to the bondsmen or villains of the great lords. -In the time of Henry III. (1260) all persons of the age of -twelve years and upwards were commanded to swear -allegiance to the king. In 1305 four persons who held land -from the Bishop of London, and dwelt outside the City, were -deprived of their freedom, and about the same time the City -records declare that everyone who is sworn a freeman, and -acts contrary to his oath, should be compelled to “forsweare -the town” and lose his privileges. The statute of the 18th<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> -Edward II. for View of Frankpledge contains a list of articles -still in use, but the statute has been improperly neglected. -In 1326 all alien merchants were directed to be amerced, and -in 1364 it was ordained that a citizen should obtain his -privileges by birth (as a son of a citizen), by servitude (as an -apprentice), or by presentment of a mystery or Guild. In -1377, and for a few years after, it was decreed that members -of the Common Council should only be chosen from the -mysteries, and in 1385 a most important decision was come -to, for upon the complaint of the Mercers and the Drapers -that some persons had been improperly admitted to the -Haberdashers’ and Weavers’ Guilds who were not of those -trades, they were at once expelled the City. In the seventh -year of Edward IV. no freeman or officer of the City was to -be allowed to use the livery of any lord or great man, on pain -of losing his office and freedom, so it is pretty evident the -two evils which at the present time (1889) beset us—foreign -traders and civil servant traders—were not unknown 400 -years ago.</p> - -<p>We shall conclude this the first chapter of our history by -a brief notice of what is to be understood by the description -“Guild.” In ancient times Guilds or Gilds were of two kinds—religious -and secular. The term “Guilds” is from the Saxon—to -pay, an amerciement or payment towards the support of -a brotherhood. The religious Guilds existed until their -dissolution by Edward VI.; their foundations in some cases -were very early, for at Glemsford, in Suffolk, in Canute’s -time, existed a fraternity of clerks. In London, the -“Cnughts” or “Cnuighten Gild,” of thirteen persons, had -their district or soke outside the City walls, near the Tower, -and was the origin of Portsoken Ward. The Gilda -Theutonicorum, the steel-yard merchants of Dowgate, who -first existed 900 years ago, and held a most important position, -had their guildhall in the neighbourhood where of late -years the iron trade has been so well known (Thames Street), -and yet it must be borne in mind that the definition of <i>steel</i>-yard -was in reality a yard for warehousing general <i>staple</i> -goods, and not solely for steel or iron ware. The transfer of -all trade concerns to the management and jurisdiction of the -Craft Guild was generally accomplished by a confirmation of -their ordinance, that everyone carrying on a trade within -the town should join the Guild, for which the Guild paid -certain taxes—in London to the King—and under Henry I. -(1100-1133), and every succeeding reign, the Weavers paid -a fee-farm rent, and in 1179 no less than eighteen Guilds -were amerced as adulterine, or set up without licence. This -was the same year that Fitzstephen tells us the followers of -the several trades, the vendors of various commodities, and -the labourers of every kind were to be found in their proper -and distinct places. Now, in proof of this, we find that to -this day in the neighbourhood of Cheap (market) side the -streets and lanes still exist wherein the particular trades in -the old City were carried on, viz., Milk Street, Bread Street -Poultry, Cornhill, Wood Street, Candlewick (now Cannon) -Street, and Ironmonger Lane—in which latter thoroughfare -and Old Jewry, close to the Guildhall, the ironmongers of old -London carried on their business, as will be proved in another -chapter.</p> - -<p>Many of the ancient Guilds in local places which related -to ironmongers will be mentioned further on, but we may -mention that Walford, speaking of the Reading Cutlers’ and -Bellfounders’ Guilds, tells us that one of their orders was:—“No<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> -smith may sell iron wares within the borough except -a freeman, on forfeiture of two shillings each time.” Next -to the Saddlers’ and Weavers’ Guilds of London in antiquity -are the Glovers’ and the Blacksmiths’—the latter ordinances -are dated 1434—and of this particular Company the writer -of the present history will at some future time give some -interesting and little known details. Suffice it to say now -that one of the orders particularly ordained: “If eny of the -seid bretheren or there wyves be absent fro oure comon -dyner or elles fro oure quater dai schall paie as moche as if -he or she ware present.” It is proved in this ordinance that -dinners were common with the City Guilds four centuries -ago, and that the wives of the members were of as much -importance to the craft as the members themselves. At the -present day, we regret to find that the ladies are not always -considered with so brotherly an attention as the blacksmiths -considered their ladies in King Henry’s day.</p> - -<p>Another of the ancient Guilds was the Farriers’, whose -orders, about the year 1324, included the charges to be made -for shoeing horses, at the rate of a penny halfpenny for six -nails, and twopence for eight nails.</p> - -<p>In Buckingham there was a Guild called the Mercers’, -which existed from early days. Even as late as the -seventeenth century the minutes of this Company contained -many very curious entries. For instance, in 1665, when -Thomas Arnott, the eldest son of Walter Arnott, was made -free upon the understanding that he was “to follow the trade -of an ironmonger,” he paid “one gallon of good wyne for -his freedom,” and when his brother Thomas was admitted in -1671 “to follow only ye trade of an ironmonger,” he also -paid the like fee. Upon turning to the ordinances of the -Company we find that the ironmongers of the borough were, -with other trades, associated under the name of the Mercers’, -and that the fifth clause particularly orders “noe strange -pson or fforeigner inhabiting within the said borough or pish, -and not ffree of the same, shall bee made ffree of the said -Companies to the intent to sell or utter any kind of wares -usually solde by any artificier, before such time as every such -strange or forrein pson have paid for his freedome”—the -sums specified in a schedule annexed, and which “for every -ironmonger” was 20<i>l.</i>, and “one good leather buckett for the -use of the said Corporation,” and that the son of such person -or freeman so admitted shall, upon being made free of the -Company “whereunto he hath beene an apprentice in forme -aforesaid,” pay to “the bayliffe and burgesses and his Company -one gallon of good wyne.”</p> - -<p>As we proceed with our history we shall find some curious -facts connected with the London ironmongers, and that -their ordinances, quaint and still in force, contain many very -illustrative evidences of the trade-unions of centuries ago.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.<br /> -<span class="smaller">IRON, IRONWORKS, AND IRONMONGERS.</span></h2> - -<p>Iron and its uses historically described should form no -unimportant part to the history of the Ironmongers’ -Company, but as it is not our intention now to give the -thousand-and-one notes which would form a most interesting -and valuable compendium to the general account of the -City Guild, it is sufficient for us if we so condense our large -store of material and give such an epitome as will assist the -reader to comprehend the origin of the trade of which the -company bears the name.</p> - -<p>A well-known writer justly observes that no one should -fail to consider the origin, history, and value of iron; that -our instruments of cutlery, the tools of our mechanics, and -the countless machines which we construct by the infinitely -varied applications of iron are derived from ore for the most -part coeval with or more ancient than the fuel by the aid of -which we reduce it to its metallic state, and apply it to -innumerable uses in the economy of human life. The use of -iron is identified with the time of erecting the Egyptian -monuments, the oldest in the world, and a very large number -of the helmets dug up at Nineveh were made of iron, and -some of copper inlaid. Readers of history have only to turn -to the pages of Anderson, Fosbroke, Scrivenor, Layard, and -others to learn that iron has ever been a most useful and -valuable article of commerce.</p> - -<p>The Romans proved their constructive ingenuity by the -manufacture of those innumerable articles of iron which -from time to time have been dug up throughout England, -particularly in those districts where woods and forests at one -time existed. In Gloucestershire the Forest of Dean for -centuries had the extensive furnaces about which so many -battles were fought in and out of Parliament, and in Sussex -the sites of the ancient ironworks in the Weald can be -traced to this day, and will be found described in Lower’s -“Historical and Archæological Notices,” printed in the second -volume of the Sussex Collections. In the reign of the -Conqueror Gloucestershire possessed a large trade in the -forging of iron for the King’s navy, and in Edward I.’s -time seventy-two furnaces were kept employed. As we -progressed, England discovered that the iron we manufactured -was wanted for home use, consequently Edward III. -prohibited its exportation.</p> - -<p>In the accounts for carrying on the war in 1513 there is -an item mentioning “nailes and yeran worke,” and just -thirty years later (according to Holinshed) the first cast-iron -cannon was made at Buxted, in Sussex, by Rafe Hoge and -Peter Bawde. Among the State Papers there are a quantity -relating to the casting of cannon not only in Sussex, but in -other counties. The Lamberhurst furnace was a large -foundry, for the woods of the Weald were plentiful, and here,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> -at a cost of 11,202<i>l.</i>, were produced the 2,500 fine iron railings -and seven iron gates, weighing 200 tons and 81 lbs., for -the enclosure of Wren’s Cathedral of St. Paul’s, London. It -is worthy of note that as early as 1290 Master Henry of -Lewes received a payment for the ironwork of the monument -of Henry III. in Westminster Abbey. The parish of -Mayfield was famous for its iron; at the palace were preserved -many relics, and among these the hammer, anvil, and -tongs of St. Dunstan. Lower says “they seem to refer as -much to the iron trade, so famous in these parts, as to the -alleged proficiency of the Saint in the craft of a blacksmith. -The hammer and tongs are of no great antiquity, but the -hammer with its iron handle may be considered a mediæval -relic.” The old legend of St. Dunstan and his successful -encounter with “the Evil one” must form part of the -history of the blacksmiths, and will not be an uninteresting -portion of their “mystery.” In 1559 the value of iron and -ironwork brought into the port of London, “the excess of -which is prejudicial to the realm,” is set down in a State -Paper to be 19,559<i>l.</i> In 1622 Thomas Covell and others -received a certificate permitting them to sell round iron shot -at 11<i>l.</i> per ton.</p> - -<p>In the reign of Elizabeth there are two most interesting -notices in manuscript. The first of the year 1574, the second -of the Armada year 1588. Nowadays we are used to -“company promoting,” but three centuries ago there was as -wild a scheme countenanced by Her Majesty’s Ministers as -ever was floated to-day. Strype, in his “Annals” (quoting -the original MSS.), says “a great project has been carrying -on now for two or three years of alchymy, William Medley -being the great undertaker to turn iron into copper. Sir -Thomas Smith, Secretary of State, had by some experiments -made before him a great opinion of it,” so had the great -Lord Burleigh, the Earl of Leicester, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, -and others, each of whom speculated, with the result that -Her Majesty (for certain royalties allowed her) granted them -a patent in January, 1574, incorporating them as the -“Governor and Society of the New Art” ... “for making -copper and quicksilver by the way of transmutation with the -commodities growing of that mystery.” Twenty persons -only were to form the company; to “dig open and work for -any mines, owers, and things whatsoever.” Sundry sums of -100<i>l.</i> each were subscribed by Burleigh, Smith & Co., but -“the concern” did not prosper. The assay master at the -Tower mint was sent to “the works,” and so was Robert -Denham, a relative, by the way, of the Sir Wm. Denham who -had been seven times Master of the Ironmongers’ Company; -but somehow or other we fail, as Strype failed with all the -papers before him, to learn “the wind up” of what was -thought to be “a most splendid investment.”</p> - -<p>Now in 1588 there was the original certificate given by -“John Colman, of the Kanc, gent,” of “Chardges belonging to a -furnace for making a fowndry of iron for one whole weeke” at -Canckwood (Cannock Wood?), co. Stafford. According to this -document, for one ton the furnace cost 110<i>s.</i> 10½<i>d.</i>, and the -forge 69<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i>; total, 9<i>l.</i> 0<i>s.</i> 0½<i>d.</i> Seven years previous to -this, the Act of Elizabeth, “Touching yron milles neere unto -the Cittie of London and the Ryver of Thames,” enacted that -in consequence of the great consumption of wood as fuel for -these mills, no woods within 22 miles of the City should be -converted “to cole or other fewell for the making of iron or -iron mettell in any iron milles furnes or hammer,” except the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> -woods of the wealds of Surrey, Sussex, and Kent, and the -woods of Christopher Darrell, of Newdigate, Surrey, gent, -and who had already preserved his woods for his own ironworks.</p> - -<p>Speaking of patents and Acts of Parliament recalls a note -or two which may as well be stated here. In 1676 Samuel -Hutchinson, citizen and ironmonger of London, had a patent -granted to him for his invention, “a newe way of melting -downe leade oare into good and mallyable mettall with -minerall coales commly called sea coales and pitt coales, -which hath byn approved of by many prsons dealing in leade -and other artists.” In 1766 John Purnell, of Froombridge, -Gloucester, ironmaster, invented a new machine for making -ship-bolts and rods of iron and steel. Between these dates -there were several patents granted to ironmongers, but the -patents were for numerous inventions quite apart from the -trade.</p> - -<p>We have stated that the Ironmongers are known to have -existed many years previous to their incorporation in 1463. -Now, according to the ancient City records, called “Liber -Horn,” compiled in the reign of Edward I., (and -quoted by Stow and others), the “Feroners,” or dealers in -iron, about the year 1300 complained to the Mayor (Elias -Russel) and the aldermen “for that the smiths of the wealds -and other merchants bringing down irons of wheels for carts -to the City of London they were much shorter than was -anciently, to the great loss and scandal of the whole trade of -ironmongers.” Whereupon an inquisition was taken, and -three rods of the just length of the strytes, and the length -and breadth of the gropes belonging to the wheels of carts -were presented and sealed with the City seal. One was -deposited in the Chamber of London, Guildhall, and the other -two handed to John Dode and Robert Paddington, the -ironmongers of the market, and John Wymondham, ironmonger -of the Bridge, who were accordingly sworn to oversee -for the benefit of the trade, and empowered to seize all -unjust and less-sized irons in future. This reference is particularly -interesting, for it not only proves the existence of -“the trade” at least one hundred and sixty years before the -incorporation of the Ironmongers, but gives us an insight -into the way complaints were redressed nearly six hundred -years ago.</p> - -<p>In Causton’s introduction to “Mildmay on City Elections,” -we are told that in a few years after the accession of -Edward III. a silent revolution had been accomplished—the -gildated crafts by the enrolment of the special freemen, -householders of the wards each in his mystery, had obtained -an exclusively civic importance, paramount to the mixed -character of the inhabitants of the wards as civic divisions, -and the reconstruction of the City from a territorial to a -trading classification had become complete. Thus, in the -twenty-fifth year of Edward III., 1351, a precept was directed -to the wardens of the City Guilds by the Mayor (which precept -formerly had been directed to the men of each ward), -and in this precept each of the thirty-three mysteries was -directed to select from their number four persons, who were -to join the others of the Companies in a consultation with -the Mayor and Sheriffs on the business of the City. The -Ironmongers accordingly selected their two wardens and two -others to represent them, and from this date they claim -their existence as a Guild. In 1363 (37 Edward III.), when -these Companies were called upon for “an offering” to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> -King to enable him to carry on the war in France, the then -large sum of 452<i>l.</i> 16<i>s.</i> was contributed, and the Ironmongers -supplied 6<i>l.</i> 18<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> It is worthy of note that upon this -occasion in precedency on the list it stood eleventh, while -to-day, some 500 years later, its precedency on the list -of City Companies is the tenth. Of this precedency, which -was a serious question in olden time, we shall have to say a -few words later on in our history.</p> - -<p>We have now to mention a most interesting circumstance, -which has only recently been discovered. Among the -enrolled letters at Guildhall which between 1350 and 1370 -were sent from the Corporation to many persons, and which -Dr. Sharpe, the Records Clerk, so ably edited for the City -four years ago, there is one written in French, and dated -the 18th of October, the 38th Edward III. (1364), and directed -to some persons whose names have not been preserved, but -then residents at Bury—probably Bury St. Edmunds, in -Suffolk—“desiring them to assist Thomas de Mildenhale, -citizen and ironmonger of London, to recover his runaway -apprentice, Andrew, the son of William Bruwere, who is -understood to be staying in the town of Bury, in such -manner as they would wish their folk to be treated in like -case or weightier. The Lord have them ever in his keeping.” -We are not told, and are not likely to know now, whether -this runaway “merry” Andrew was brought back, and, if so, -how the Chamberlain received him. In subsequent days a -runaway apprentice would have “little ease” at the hands of -the Guildhall caretaker of a citizen’s conscience.</p> - -<p>We shall include in this second chapter of our history -another most interesting document which Mr. Riley found -when making his extracts from the Guildhall treasures a few -years ago. It is nothing more or less than the appraisement -of the goods and chattels of Stephen le Northerne, in the -thirtieth year of Edward III. (1356), and gives us a very -curious picture of what an ironmonger’s shop contained at -that date. It would appear that the goods were in the -house of one John Leche, in the parish of St. Michael, Cornhill, -on June 6 that year, and that the appraisers were -William Sunnyng, carpenter, Robert de Blithe, “brasyere,” -Robert Russe, “brasyere,” Henry Clement and Stephen -Basham, “lockyers” (locksmiths), and Adam Wayte, “upholder.” -The total value of the household goods and stock-in-trade -came to the sum of 9<i>l.</i> 14<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i>, but even this amount -was a large one in those days. Among the articles enumerated -and appraised we find five carpets, 7<i>s.</i>; five bankeres, -(bench-covers), 12 quyshynes (cushions), and one dosere -(tapestry hanging), 3<i>s.</i> 9<i>d.</i>; three tablecloths and one towel, -21<i>d.</i>; one surcoat, 8<i>s.</i>; one aumbrey (portable cupboard) and -chest, 18<i>d.</i>; one balance, called an “auncere” (weighing-machine), -12<i>d.</i>; pair of iron gauntlets and pair of bracers -(for the arms), 6<i>d.</i>; 20 lbs. pewter, 2<i>s.</i> 11<i>d.</i>; two querne (or -mill) stones, 18<i>d.</i>; three brass pots, two pitchers, a basin, -seven brass plates, nine pieces of holdshrof, 19<i>s.</i> 11<i>d.</i>; -feather bed, three carpets, three sheets, 9<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>; two -balances, 6<i>s.</i>; trivet and four iron slegges (sledge-hammers), -3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>; two plonchones (iron punches) and four cart-strokes -(tires), 3<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>; pair of irons for Eucharist, five fire-forks, -four heynges, one tin pan, six latches for doors, four small -goldsmiths’ anvils, two kerfsheres (chaff-shears), 5<i>s.</i>; eight -pairs of kemstercombs (wool-combers), and one boweshawe -(bowshave), 11<i>d.</i>; old iron and balance, 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>; two iron -spits and iron for bedsteads, 5<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>; fifteen battle-axes, 7<i>s.</i>;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> -four hatches and nine pair of hinges, 6<i>s.</i>; two small andirons, -twelve hatchets, five pickaxes, seven carpenters’ axes, three -twybilles, three woodbilles, four masons’ axes (old), pair of -pincers, flesh-hook, &c., 10<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i>; twelve dozen hinges, 5<i>s.</i>; -ten pairs linch-pins, nine pairs of bar-hooks, 6<i>s.</i>; iron grate, -anvil, &c., 2<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i>; thirty-three pairs of okees (ornamental -mouldings), 6<i>s.</i>; twenty bolts and sockets, 6<i>s.</i>; twelve pairs -of Utt garnets, eleven pairs of Ambry garnets, ten plate-locks, -8<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i>; five latches, iron chisel, 120 keys, twelve cart-clouts -(axle-tree plates), 3<i>s.</i>; pikestaff, 4<i>d.</i>; sixty columns -(axle trees) for wheels, three barrels and two vats, 2<i>s.</i> 3<i>d.</i>; -pair of mustard querns (mills), 6<i>d.</i>: mincing-bowl and shoe-horn, -1<i>d.</i>; bacinet, dagger, and buckler, 5<i>s.</i>; wooden bedstead, -2<i>s.</i>; &c.</p> - -<p>This inventory is very curious, and, as inventories of so -early a date are very rare, we could not resist the temptation -of quoting one, especially when it related to an ironmonger’s -shop. Now, it appears that the whole of these goods and -chattels, together with one tenement, three shops, and one -alley, situated in the parish of St. Michael, Cornhill, and -valued at fourteen shillings yearly (rents in Cornhill were -reasonable in those days), were delivered over to Simon -Palmer, “pelterer,” and William Sunnyng, “carpenter,” by -the Mayor and Aldermen, to be holden in trust for the use of -Alice, the daughter of John Leche aforesaid, when she came -of age. As the premises appear to have been shortly afterwards -burnt to the ground, the trustees had to rebuild, and -on folio 45 of the Corporation Letter Book G Mr. Riley -found the cost of such restoration.</p> - -<p>In our first chapter we stated it was in 1377 that by enactment -the Common Council and other officials of the City -were directed to be elected from the mysteries instead of by -the Wards, as theretofore. This privilege, although only -temporarily enjoyed as regarded the Council, yet has continued, -so far as the Liverymen being the elective body of -the City officials, down to the present time, notwithstanding -that 500 years have passed by since the passing of the Act; -and, looking at the list of names of the persons chosen and -the many notable individuals, styled by old Stow under the -heading, “Honor of citizens and worthinesse of men in the -same,” there are few persons who carefully and without -prejudice study the facts but will agree with us that the -Livery have never neglected their duty, but have, as a rule, -only elected those persons who would do their duty to their -country, to their Sovereign, and to their brethren in the -City. We sincerely trust that, whenever any elective -franchise is conferred upon the Londoners at large, they will -execute their trust with as good and unbiased a judgment. -In our next chapter we shall tell how the Ironmongers carried -out their trust after their foundation as a Guild and an -Incorporated Company of the City of London.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF IRONMONGERS.</span></h2> - -<p>Although existing records do not give us all the information -we should like to have about the ancient history of -the Guilds, we have, nevertheless, been able to show that by -their joining in the election of the City officials in the year -1351, and choosing four of their members (John Deynes and -Richard de Eure, wardens, and Henry de Ware and William -Fromond), “the wisest and most sufficient” in the Guild, to -treat with the Mayor and Sheriffs upon the “serious business” -of the City, that the Ironmongers were duly recognised -thus early as a firmly-established brotherhood.</p> - -<p>The “market,” or special place of business of the fraternity, -was, as we have said, in the neighbourhood of the -City Guildhall, and hence the existing name of Ironmonger -Lane, which is a thoroughfare out of Cheapside, on the -north side, and the next turning to the Old Jewry westward, -between which streets to this day stands a church, known as -St. Olave’s (about to be removed), the predecessors of which—St. -Martin’s, Ironmonger’s Lane, and St. Olave—contained -the remains of several eminent ironmongers, including -William Dikeman, “Feroner,” one of the sheriffs, 1367; -Robert Havelocke, 1390; Thomas Michell, 1527; Richard -Chamberlain, 1562. At what date the craft left this neighbourhood -is unknown. We know they possessed the Ironmongers’ -Hall, more east, near Billiter Street, in the middle -of the fifteenth century, about which district the members -individually may have carried on business; Strype, however, -stating that when they removed from their old market they -took up a position in Thames Street, wherein to this day, as -is well known, the iron wharves and warehouses are numerous -and extensive.</p> - -<p>The precedency question in the olden time was a momentous -one for the City Guilds, and led to many conflicts between -the members of certain companies, which will be mentioned -when speaking of “the Livery” and “apprentices” hereafter. -It is worthy of note here to remark that in the year -1376(7), the fiftieth of Edward III., forty-eight Guilds elected -148 of their members as the Common Council, when the -Ironmongers, standing the thirty-fifth in the list, elected -four of their number. We imagine that no actual precedency -was here followed, for in subsequent lists the “great” -companies contained first thirteen names, and eventually -twelve, in which the Ironmongers stood eighth, eleventh, -and, finally, tenth, a position assigned them not so much for -their wealth, but probably for their respectability, or, as old -Stow says, “the worthiness of the men,” and the power they -possessed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 375px;" id="plate3"> -<img src="images/plate3.jpg" width="375" height="700" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Ancient Silver-gilt Salt-cellar.</span> (<a href="#Page_21">See page 21.</a>)</p> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">A Fifteenth-century Maple-wood Mazer-bowl.</span> (<a href="#Page_47">See page 47.</a>)</p> -</div> - -<p>Again, from these great companies the Lord Mayor was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> -always chosen. The first Mayor was Henry Fitzalwyn, -“Draper,” near the London Stone, which is an ancient City -relic still existing (but not on its original site) in Cannon -Street, not many yards from the office of <span class="smcap">The Ironmonger</span>, -in which this history is first published exactly 700 years -afterwards, for Fitzalwyn was first chosen in 1189, and continued -to hold office twenty-four successive years. As we -have said, the Lord Mayor was always “one of the Twelve”; -but in 1742 Sir Robert Wilmot, “Cooper,” declining to be -“translated” to the Clothworkers (as was the custom when -the Mayor elect was of a minor company), and there being -no law to compel him, he was consequently the first Mayor -not of the great companies; and it is a curious fact that -Wilmot’s predecessor in office was an ironmonger, and to -this day the Coopers and the Ironmongers are associated in -the Irish estate.</p> - -<p>After a lapse of 500 years it will be interesting to many, -and to those who object to oath-taking in particular, if we -give in its original form the wording of the Ironmongers’ -Warden’s oath required to be taken before admission in the -fiftieth year of Edward III. Its quaint phraseology must be -our excuse for the transcript:—“Yᵉ shall swere that yᵉ -shall wele and treuly ov’see the Craft of Iremongers’ wherof -yᵉ be chosen Wardeyn for the yeere. And all the goode -reules and ordynces of the same craft that been approved -here be the Court, and noon other, yᵉ shal kepe and doo to -be kept. And all the defautes that yᵉ fynde in the same -Craft ydon to the Chambleyn of yᵉ Citee for the tyme beyng, -yᵉ shal wele and treuly P’sente. Sparyng noo man for favor -ne grevyng noo p’sone for hate. Extorcion ne wrong under -colour of your office yᵉ shall non doo, nethir to noo thing -thot shalbe ayenst the State, peas, and profite of oure -Sovereyn Lord the Kyng or to the Citee yᵉ shall not consente, -but for the tyme that yᵉ shalbe in office in all things thot -shalbe longyng unto the same craft after the lawes and -ffranchises of the seide Citee welle and laufully yᵉ shal have -you. So helpe you God and all Seyntes.”</p> - -<p>In 1397, one of the years of “Dick Whittington” as Lord -Mayor, a curious case came before the Court of Aldermen -for decision. William Sevenoake, a native of Sevenoaks, in -Kent, and who, subsequent to the date we mention, was -Sheriff and Mayor of London, and founder of the schools -and almshouses at Sevenoaks, prayed the Court to be -enrolled on the Grocers’ Company, notwithstanding in his -apprenticeship his master Hugh de Boys was called an ironmonger. -The Grocers having proved the facts, William was -accordingly entered as a grocer, and 40<i>s.</i> paid for the -privilege.</p> - -<p>Before their incorporation, the Ironmongers were represented -by three Mayors of London, viz., Sir Richard Marlow, -1409-10, and again, 1417-18, and by Sir John Hatherley, -1442-43, and yet, after their incorporation, and not until the -year 1566-67 did another ironmonger fill the “chair,” -although several sheriffs represented the Guild both before -and after their charter was granted.</p> - -<p>Herbert, the Guildhall librarian of half a century ago, -speaking of the compulsory enrolment of the Companies’ -charters, “regretted exceedingly that so little could be found -about the ancient state of the City Guilds among the State -papers and records preserved by the nation.” If the zealous -literary citizen had only known then what we know to-day<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> -he would not only have regretted, but denounced in the -strongest terms (as we do now), the gross mismanagement of -the State Paper Office in the past and the red-tapeism of the -present time, the former losing to us for ever most valuable -records, the latter placing every obstacle possible in the way -of the documents now remaining being conveniently used by -historians, the publication of the contents thereof greatly -helping towards their future preservation. In our searches -at the Public Record Office for the purpose of this history, -we have experienced this inconvenience, and we certainly -consider it should not exist in a Government institution -supported by the public. When we find the authorities at -the British Museum, and the Guildhall, and other repositories -open to us, and giving every facility with their records, -which, after all, embrace priceless treasures and quite as -worthy of safe custody, the restrictions placed upon literary -research by the Master of the Rolls and the Record Office -officials is really worthy a Royal Commission of inquiry.</p> - -<p>When Henry VII. entered the City in 1485 the Guilds supplied -435 members to meet the King, and of these ten were -Ironmongers. In the year 1504 there was a subscription of -the sixty-one Companies, amounting to 313<i>l.</i> 16<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>, towards -the erection of the kitchen and offices at Guildhall, and 5<i>l.</i> -was the sum the Ironmongers gave. It must be borne in -mind that in those days a small sum went a long way.</p> - -<p>We now arrive at an interesting period of the Company’s -history. Eight years previous to obtaining their charter of -incorporation the Ironmongers obtained a grant of arms. -Both charter and grant have been repeatedly exhibited and -described, and beautiful facsimiles of the two documents -will be found in Mr. G. R. French’s “Catalogue of the Ironmongers’ -Exhibition of Antiquities,” in 1861, a most -sumptuously printed and privately circulated work, and now -very scarce.</p> - -<p>By warrant dated September 1, the thirty-fourth of -Henry VI. (1455), “Lancastre, Kyng of Armes,” and the -College of Arms granted “Unto the honurable Crafte and -felasship of the ffraunchised men of Iremongers of the Citie -of London a token of armes, that is to sey: Silver a cheveron -of Gowles sitte betwene three gaddes of stele of asure, on -the cheueron three swevells of golde: with two lizardes -of theire owne kynde encoupled with gowlys, on the -helmet.”</p> - -<p>The two lizards on the helmet, it must be borne in mind, -represent the crest. “The Crafte” and their successors -were to hold and enjoy these arms “for evermore,” and the privilege -of using a tabard upon all state occasions. Clarenceux, -King at Arms, inspected the original grant in 1530-31, and -signed its confirmation, and in 1560 William Hervy, another -Clarenceux, curiously enough upon inspecting the same document, -found the patent “to be without good authoryte,” and -therefore, either to ease his conscience or that of the College, -or for the more likely reason to be mentioned presently, confirms -once again the same grant of “armes, helme, and -crest” to “the Corporacon, Company, and Comynalty, and to -their successors for evermore,” to use the same “in shylde -banners, standardes, and otherwyse,” and “without impedyment -or interuption of any person or persons,” for the confirmation -of which privilege, already enjoyed for one hundred -years, the Ironmongers’ books, Mr. Nicholl tells us, show that -“Mayster Clarensys” received thirty-seven shillings, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> -“his svant for bringing them hom” twelve pence for his -own use.</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding the official granting and confirmation, -another gentleman from the college, this time the Richmond -Herald, inspected the same document, and he too did the -Company the honour in 1634 of again “confirming” the same -grants, so that it is impossible to deny to the Ironmongers -the right and privilege of bearing arms; and one fact is -certain, if ever a Corporation or Brotherhood possessed -appropriate armorials suggestive of their trade it is this -Guild, which cannot be said of the armorial shields of many -other City Companies.</p> - -<p>Now, we have gone into this matter of the granting of the -arms and the three confirmations beyond the usually allotted -space in histories for the simple reason that one of the most -extraordinary circumstances in connection with heraldic -grants has yet to be explained. The Ironmongers’ Company, -although possessing a grant which has been thrice confirmed -by the College, and in which the two lizards appear as a -crest, never received from either of the Heralds who were -good enough for a consideration to inspect and confirm an -authority which each ought to have given, to use “supporters” -to the armorial shield, or, if the Company had no -right to use them, to inquire the reason why, &c., when such -were assumed.</p> - -<p>The Company adopting the supporters, two lizards, as in -the crest, Edmondson, another Herald, in 1780 actually -stated in his Heraldic work that they were given the Company -in one of the confirmations! In 1812 the question -again came before Garter, King of Arms, when the -Collegians were good enough to say that the Ironmongers -might have a “confirmation” of the supporters upon paying -the modest fee of 73<i>l.</i> It is needless to say that the Company -declined to pay this (in our opinion) extortionate -demand, and so to this day (as it has exercised from a -period long before this century dawned) the Ironmongers -bear their supporters, as only true citizens should.</p> - -<p>It may be interesting to note here that in many armorial -shields of private families there are similarities to that of the -Ironmongers’, except that, in place of the chevron between -three gads of steel, there are a chevron between three billets -of wood, and it is particularly interesting to call attention to -the fact that such a coat is to be found in a seal dated 1359, -and still more curious that in the deed on which this seal -appears three ironmongers are mentioned: John Deynes, -William Dikeman, and Henry de Ware. This was nearly a -century previous to the Company receiving a grant of arms.</p> - -<p>The lizards, now used by the Ironmongers as crest and -supporters, were also used when naming their manor in -Ireland in the reign of James I., now known as the “Manor -of Lizard,” and about which we shall speak hereafter. Mr. -Herbert, fifty years ago, remarks:—“What are in the arms -termed ‘lizards,’ we may rather imagine were intended to -represent salamanders—a creature supposed, like iron, to -live unhurt in fire.” Pennant says:—“The frolicsome agility -of lizards enlivens the dried banks in hot climates, and the -great affection which some of them show to mankind should -further engage our regard and attention.” Another writer -quaintly suggests that the dear little animal not only loves -iron, but likes it hot, eating it with a relish, and digests it -with ease. See also the head-piece to Herbert’s “History.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span></p> - -<p>Under the armorials is the Company’s motto, and that is, -appropriately, “God is our strength.” It is not known when -this was assumed, but the date is modern, for anciently—at -all events, in the seventeenth century—the Ironmongers’ -motto was “Assher Dure,” which a well-known antiquary -translates as “steel endures,” and will be found in the -heraldic volume of Companies’ arms in the British Museum.</p> - -<p>A most important step was now taken, which in the history -of the Guild at once entitled it to the style of “worshipful.” -In 1463 it obtained a charter of incorporation. Written in -Latin, it is not a lengthy document, but is interesting, and -prettily illuminated in gold and colours, with the royal arms -within the initial letter “E” of Edwardus, and another -shield of the Company’s arms in the margin beneath. -Pendant is a fine specimen of the royal seal of England, -circular in size, in green wax, dated Westminster, March 20, -the third year of Edward IV., then 1462, but, since the -alteration of the calendar, now 1463. The King grants: -“To our well-beloved and faithful liegemen all the freemen -of the mystery and art of Iremongers of our City of London -and suburbs thereof” the rights and privileges to be a body -corporate for evermore, to have a master and two wardens -(who are named as Richard Flemming, alderman; and -Nicholas Marchall and Robert Toke) and a commonalty, with -perpetual succession, under the name of “the master and -keepers or wardens and commonalty of the mystery or art of -Ironmongers of London,” to have a common seal, make -ordinances, to purchase and hold lands and tenements to the -value of 10 marks yearly.</p> - -<p>The day upon which the Guild received their incorporation -charter they, doubtless, celebrated with all the -ceremonials and festivities which we, 400 years afterwards, -indulge in to-day, and they recorded in their books a resolution: -“That they shalle holde and kepe the said feste for -their principall fesst, evermore.”</p> - -<p>Ironmongers’ Hall in Fenchurch Street will be described -in another chapter, but we may as well state that the site of -the present building was granted in the year 1457 by the -executors of Alice Stivard, the widow of Sir John Stivard, -Knight, to the nineteen “citizen and ironmongers” mentioned -(among whom were the three named in the charter), and -that in the Company’s books occurs the entry, “Bought by -the for wreten ffelowshipp and paid fore, and also posesson -taken the XX daie of Octobr the XXXVI yer of King Henry -the VI.”</p> - -<p>Now, what do our reforming friends in 1889 say to this? -There is nothing said about trusts here. It is as much the -Company’s freehold and belongs to them, the “root and -branch” descendants, as ever the commonest article that may -be purchased (and paid for, mark ye!) by any citizen and -working-man to-day. So, in simply quoting the purchase -here, we do so to put all reformers on their guard not to be -so ready to make hay (by their seizure) before the sun shines -on assumed or presumed rights.</p> - -<p>But we will go a little further. The Company did not buy -without legal aid, for the books show “lernyd counsaile at -the purchas makyng” received not only 26<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> for their -advice and labours, but there was paid “at taverns dyvers -tymes” for refreshments to the same gentlemen the large -sum of 3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>Having purchased a house and garden, and regularly gone<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> -into housekeeping, the Ironmongers began their furnishing -in humble style. Among the first articles purchased were the -following:—</p> - -<table summary="Entries from the records"> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">x</td> - <td>stoles</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdpg">iij<i>s.</i></td> - <td class="tdpg">iiij<i>d.</i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">i</td> - <td>fire forke</td> - <td class="tdr">}</td> - <td class="tdpg valign" rowspan="4">xj<i>s.</i></td> - <td class="tdpg valign" rowspan="4">vij<i>d.</i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">i</td> - <td>pʳ tongs</td> - <td class="tdr">}</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">i</td> - <td>pʳ andyrons</td> - <td class="tdr">}</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">i</td> - <td>rake</td> - <td class="tdr">}</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">vij</td> - <td>candlestickes</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdpg">iij<i>s.</i></td> - <td class="tdpg">iiij<i>d.</i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">i</td> - <td>table and</td> - <td class="tdr">}</td> - <td class="tdpg valign" rowspan="2">iiij<i>s.</i></td> - <td class="tdpg valign" rowspan="2">vj<i>d.</i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">ij</td> - <td>tressels</td> - <td class="tdr">}</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">i</td> - <td>caudron in a furneys in the kechen</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdpg"></td> - <td class="tdpg">vij<i>d.</i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">i</td> - <td>pʳ bed bords in the chamber</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdpg"></td> - <td class="tdpg">xx<i>d.</i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">i</td> - <td>water tankard</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdpg"></td> - <td class="tdpg">xxij<i>d.</i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">i</td> - <td>cheste in the boterye, bounded wᵗʰ yron</td> - <td></td> - <td class="tdpg">ij<i>s.</i></td> - <td class="tdpg"></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>And the same accounts tell us that “the alderman and the -bedill at ye possessyon takyng” received 2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> “For brede -and ale at our possession takyn” 22<i>d.</i> was spent, while -“barge hyre at twoo tymes” cost 14<i>s.</i>, but there is no -evidence what for, or where to the barges were so employed.</p> - -<p>It must not be said that the Worshipful Company of -Ironmongers commenced incorporated existence extravagantly. -And we shall be able to show in our next chapter -that, as they began so they continued, careful in the management -of their charity trusts, and frugal in all matters -pertaining to their government.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;" id="plate4"> -<img src="images/plate4.jpg" width="350" height="700" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">A Sixteenth-century Cocoa-nut Cup or Hanap.</span></p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.<br /> -<span class="smaller">FOUR HUNDRED YEARS OF THE IRONMONGERS’ -HISTORY.—I.</span></h2> - -<p>Although Mr. Alderman Cotton, one of the Parliamentary -City Companies’ Commissioners, reported five -years ago “that the returns made to the Commission show -conclusively that the members of the Livery Companies were -never exclusively of the trade the name of which was borne -by their Company, and that for about 400 years the -larger proportion of the members have not pretended to -follow the crafts of their Companies,” and that “the Livery -Companies are not to be classed with friendly or benevolent -societies, with monastic institutions, or with political or -other clubs, but rather approached the character of a -masonic body, exercising in the past and at the present -time a very good and important moral influence not only -upon citizens and City life, but upon public life generally,” -and foremost in the promotion of education and charitable -acts, we shall show that, like many other of the Companies, -the Ironmongers’ has never proved indifferent to its particular -trade or its kindred associations.</p> - -<p>It was contended before the Commissioners in 1882 that -the whole of the charters of the Companies are bad because -the King parted with his right to grant charters conferring -the right of search. Without attempting to enter into the -question, or debate the correctness of such an assertion, as -only a lawyer could and would in “the good old times,” -upon the power of the sovereign to make a grant which -has stood the test of centuries, no such right is to be found -in either of the Ironmongers’ charters. The records of the -Company show that statutory legislation for the protection -and regulation of the iron trade was enacted in the reign of -Henry IV., Richard III., Henry VIII., and Edward VI., and -that on certain occasions this Company have laid abuses of -the trade before the Common Council that they might deal -therewith, this company not having the power in itself. -Amongst its own commonalty only the Ironmongers’ exercised -supervision and control of trading, but as none of the -trade joined the Company other than of their own free will -and for their own good, obedience to such control can only -be regarded as voluntary, and not as infringing the liberty -of the subject contrary to the provisions of Magna Charta.</p> - -<p>We therefore desire in the present chapter, while giving -a chronicle of the Ironmongers’ progress during the past -400 years, to show that the old City Guild has a history in -many respects peculiarly its own, and that since its incorporation -it has frequently proved most valuable to the State, -the City, and the people.</p> - -<p>And yet the Ironmongers as brethren have had their -troubles. Witness the City Sheriff of 1479, Robert Byfield<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> -by name and Ironmonger by Company, who, with Sir -Bartholomew James, the then Lord Mayor, attended prayers -at St. Paul’s Cathedral, and had the audacity to kneel too -close to his Civic Majesty. His Lordship chid him for the -affront; Mr. Sheriff resented the scolding, and the end of -the extraordinary squabble was that the Court of Aldermen -tried the case, and fined Mr. Byfield, who, says Stow, -“payd 50<i>l.</i> towards the water conduits,” one of which, the -great conduit in Cheapside, was then building. Our Sheriff, -who resided in Tower Street, did not long survive the trial, -for he died in 1482, and by his will proved he was far from -being unmindful of religious or charitable influences, for he -not only founded a chapel and made many bequests, but did -not forget his poorer brethren in Fenchurch Street.</p> - -<p>But not alone and personally have the Ironmongers -suffered. Our early Monarchs appear to have considered the -rich and powerful Citizens a fair field for plunder. While -Royalty was privileged to run to excesses, and by extravagance -spent the income their loyal subjects provided, the -Citizens, because they exercised their moral and more -business-like spirit of showing a balance on the right side of -the ledger, were made victims of repeated extortions. It is -no use denying, and unjust to deny, that our Sovereigns have -so loved London as to sacrifice their comfort or their greed -by visiting it for other than personal motives, and the -records show but too plainly that Royalty in the past has -depended upon the wealth of “a nation of shopkeepers” for -a constant supply of the “needful.” The Royal draw upon -the City purse commenced early in London’s existence, and -great has been the loss to the Citizens; and yet to-day there -are those who still clamour for the extinction of the very -source which has kept the nation alive! Our remarks are -not overdrawn, as our proofs are many—too many, in fact, to -be detailed at large. One or two must suffice now.</p> - -<p>Beginning, then, more than 350 years ago, King Henry VIII. -set a bad example to his descendants. Having asked the -City for 20,000<i>l.</i>—only as a loan, of course—in the year 1523, -he, the more readily to raise it, “comandyed to have all the -money and platt that was belonging to every hawlle or -craft,” and so the poor Ironmongers had to pay up among -the other Companies. The book sorrowfully records, “At -the whyche comandmentt he had all oure money,” and that -amounting to only 25<i>l.</i> 1<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i>, the plate was pawned or sold, -realising 46<i>l.</i> more, or a total of 71<i>l.</i> 14<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i>; and even then, -not being satisfied, twenty of the richest members of the -Company “lent” him out of their own pockets something -like 190<i>l.</i>, “Mr. Willm Denham oure Warden” heading the -list with 30<i>l.</i> We hope he was repaid, but we doubt it.</p> - -<p>The King having obtained this “little loan” so easily did not -forget to be “a suitor” to the City again; but the next time -the Ironmongers went to the Pawnbrokers was in 1544, when -they “layd to plege, the xxij. day of May,” their ewers, -salts, and cups, to provide “xiiij. men in harnes to goe over -the see wᵗʰ the Kyngs army in to France, that was iiij. bowmen -and x. byll men” fully equipped for service. Now we -do not intend to quote every occasion when the Sovereign -borrowed money, but a few selected cases will tell the tale. -In 1575 a precept from the Lord Mayor commanded the -Company to assist the Queen’s demand by paying 60<i>l.</i>, coolly -adding, “if youe have not soe moche in store then you shale -borrowe the same at ynterest at thonly costs and lossis of -yoʳ hall.” Next year the Queen commanded the City to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> -raise and hold in readiness for her 140,000<i>l.</i>, and a few years -later, in 1588, the celebrated Armada year, when every county -in England lent its thousands to assist in the defence of the -nation, and the Companies of the City advanced 51,900<i>l.</i>, -we find the Ironmongers’ proportion was 2,300<i>l.</i> (“The -City Guilds Subscription Lists,” in “The Western Antiquary,” -May, 1888), raised among fourteen of the wealthiest -members. In 1598 the Queen’s Privy Council sent for -20,000<i>l.</i> more, and the Ironmongers lent 880<i>l.</i> In 1614, the -treasury being empty, and Parliament dissolved, the King -asked for 100,000<i>l.</i>; but the City was far from prosperous -that year. Government demands, the Ulster and Virginia -plantations, and other calls had drained the City purse; and -it was only after several meetings that the Ironmongers -obliged His Majesty by making “a benevolence” of 179<i>l.</i> -And when, in 1620, another demand was made, and the -Company granted 170<i>l.</i>, the members were compelled for a -time to be so economical that not only were all their dinners -stopped, but they actually fined each other so that the -current expenses could be paid. And still the obnoxious and -oppressive precepts poured in. In 1627, in 1628, in 1630, -the citizens were truly “dearly beloved” to the King, and -when, in 1640 and 1642, the Parliamentary demands for -another trifling “loan” of 100,000<i>l.</i> made matters more and -more disheartening, the Ironmongers were forced to part -with 3,400<i>l.</i>, and another advance a little later made the -Government a debtor to the Company in the year 1652 of no -less a sum than 9,536<i>l.</i> 3<i>s.</i> 7<i>d.</i> If we calculate what was -owing to the other Corporations at the same time at only -half this sum each, is it to be wondered at that there were -civil wars, or that the extravagances of the “Merry Monarch” -and his saintly brother James brought about in succession -the shutting up of the Exchequer and the revolution of two -centuries ago?</p> - -<p>The Ironmongers had all along proved to be such true -friends to the State that they found out to their cost, and -too late, that they had not been true to themselves. Their -account with the Government and their Royal masters of -fifty years before still remained unsettled, and to so low a -pitch had their exchequer fallen that in 1691 they were again -compelled to pawn their plate for 253<i>l.</i>, and no longer trust -to the promises or bonds of their debtors. And so, striking -off the balance of 5,000<i>l.</i> as a bad debt, they determined in -future to trust only those who were trustworthy. But even -the loss or money, and having to pawn their plate and -valuables, were not their only troubles. The harassing -demands of the State at times were so oppressive that it -makes us wonder the City did not revolt sooner than it did -and shut its gates to tyranny as Derry did in 1688. Only one -example of oppression need I give here. In 1675 the Hearth -Tax collector called in Fenchurch Street and demanded -4<i>l.</i> 16<i>s.</i> for “chimney money” for two empty houses, belonging -to the Company, then standing between the present Queen -Victoria and Thames Streets. The Ironmongers declined to -pay the demand, whereupon (says the record) “he (the collector) -did, wᵗʰ his consorts and constable, goe upp into the -hall and took away one of the Company’s salts.” This was -distressing with a vengeance, everyone will admit, and, notwithstanding -that we think empty houses to-day should pay -their share of taxation and thus lighten parochial rates, we -do not advocate the sharp practice of King Charles’s -collector.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p> - -<p>Let us now take a rapid review of the Company’s history -as applicable to the trade. If they did not possess the right -of search or the power over the trade generally, like some of -the other Guilds, they by advice and action with the Corporation -and Companies have upon many occasions -proved most beneficial and valuable. The earliest ordinances -of the Guild are of the date 1498. They provide -for the elections of the Master and Wardens -“wᵗʰ tokens of garlands on their heds,” the charge -of purchasing “clothing or lyvery” for the brotherhood at -the drapers’ shops at Blackwell Hall (on or near the site of -the present Guildhall Library); the settling of the dinners, -when the member paid 2<i>s.</i>, “and for the wyf if she be att -the dyner xii<i>d.</i>” (which is not an ironmonger’s wife’s privilege -at the present time); those freemen warned to attend -the Hall and disobeying to be fined 4<i>d.</i>, and the wardens 2<i>s.</i>; -none to offer insult to their brethren; “no member to sue a -brother for debt without leave of the wardens”; apprentices -to be admitted to the fellowship “having served his tyme -well and truly”; “straungers or foreigners (that is to say, -those not already of the City) may be elected if introduced by -four creditable liverymen”; “the Wardens, once in every two -years at least, to search all manner of weights and measures -that be used in the same felashippe, and when they find any -default to levy fines at the discression of the master and -wardens”; apprentices to be enrolled at Guildhall within -the first year, and to be registered in the Company’s book; -“no person in the felashippe shall take noon apprentice excepte -he have sewertie and bond for him in Cˡⁱ sterling”; and no -apprentice to be “under 14 years of age, and for no lesse -terme than X yeres, except it be his first apprentice taken -for necessitee, and for him he shel ax licence of the wardeyns,” -and every apprentice his master shall advise to be “resonable -and honest,” and shall see that he have clean and sound -“hosyn, doblett, shirtis, and other necessaries,” ... “to -kepe hym from colde and wete,” and by no means to suffer -“his here to growe to long.” Finally, every member of the -fellowship, whether in or out of the clothing (that is to say, -liveryman or freeman), was required “to appear iiij. tymes in -the yeere at the foure principal Courts, and these iiij. Courts -ben ordeyned alway to endure to Goddes pleasir principally, -and to redresse the maters that be not wele used, and to kepe -pece and gode rewle among us,” and at these Courts all -arrearages were to be paid—the master, 12<i>d.</i>; the present or -past wardens, 8<i>d.</i>; the clothing (or liveryman), 6<i>d.</i>; and the -yeomanry (or freeman), 4<i>d.</i>; and the wardens not to see the -yeomanry decay.</p> - -<p>Such then is an abstract of the earliest ordinances of the -Ironmongers. At the present time the Company consists of -a master, two wardens, the livery (all of whom comprise the -Court, and, therefore, unlike any other City Company, who -have a livery and a court of assistants as well), and the yeomanry, -or freemen generally, over which presides a warden -chosen by and from themselves at Easter, yearly. Of these -we shall speak in another chapter.</p> - -<p>The ordinances were revised and approved by the Lord -Chancellor and Justices in February 1581, when the rules -were either modified or extended. The elections are set -forth; the four quarterly courts were settled, and at which the -master paid his quarterage money of 16<i>d.</i>; the warden, 12<i>d.</i>; -the liveryman, 9<i>d.</i> and the freemen, 4<i>d.</i> The apprentice -always to be of the age not exceeding twenty-four when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> -his term expired. The stranger or foreigner when admitted -to pay 20<i>l.</i> The search of weights and measures to be once -a year, or oftener, in the shops of the fellowship, and false -ones destroyed, and fines of 40<i>s.</i> to the Company to be -inflicted. Other special ordinances will be alluded to in -another chapter.</p> - -<p>The Company in 1549 interested themselves in the passing -of the Act against the forging of iron gads instead of gads -of steel, and six years later there are several entries relating -to the coal meterage, which the Company had to superintend -until the reign of James I. In 1557, when the rules of the -newly-founded Bridewell at Blackfriars were made, and to -which prison rogues and apprentices formerly, and of late -years unmanageable City apprentices only, have been sent by -the Chamberlain, it was specially provided in the governing -of “the nail-house” that “to you is given authority to make -sale of all such nayls as shall be made in this house, so the -same be done according to the order taken with the Company -of Ironmongers, which is, that (they giving to this -house as the people of the same may by their travail reasonably -live) shall before all men have all the nails that are -made therein, and have one month’s day of payment for the -same.” An inventory of all iron and nails, smithies, hammers, -anvils, bellows, and tools to be truly kept, &c., and proper -workmen appointed to oversee the idle apprentices’ work. -In 1579 there were at Bridewell what in 1597 were called -“art masters,” or those who had charge of trade apprentices, -and among these were the naylors and pinmakers. In 1598 -“Spanish needles” were made in the prison; in 1602 the -pinners’ boys numbered fourteen, and in 1604 there were to -be forty.</p> - -<p>In the first year of Queen Elizabeth, 1558, the new Timber -Act received special consideration from the Company, for it -concerned the ironworks. In 1561 they took action against -one of the freemen, Clement Cornwall, about whom a complaint -was lodged for selling inferior goods at Lewes Fair, -and three years later, at the instance of the yeomanry, the -Court ordered that at fairs or elsewhere their members must -sell nails six score to the hundred, and not five score as -formerly. In 1569 the Founders’ Company fell out with the -wardens of the Ironmongers’, which was settled by the -aldermen, and ten years later three members of each Company -of Ironmongers and Grocers were ordered to attend -between the hours of 7 <span class="smcapuc">A.M.</span> and 6 <span class="smcapuc">P.M.</span> at the Bishop Gate -of the City, to inspect and search every person and see that -their “apparil, swords, daggers, or bucklers, wᵗ long pikes, -great ruffs or long cloakes, or carry thear swordes close under -their armes or the poyntes upward” were as by the late -proclamation provided. In 1612 the Ironmongers, Blacksmiths, -and Carpenters had many meetings, and passed special -resolutions jointly on the then serious question of the importation -of rod iron and a newly granted patent, and it is -interesting to note that the then senior warden of the Company -was the young gentleman who misbehaved himself at -Lewes Fair in 1561, as already mentioned. In 1623 the -Cutlers joined the Ironmongers, and obtained from the Corporation -the by-law that all strangers or others should be -compelled, as heretofore, to bring cutlery and iron wares to -Leadenhall to be examined. This new by-law caused the -Corporation and Companies much trouble to carry out, but -it continued a City ordinance down to the year 1665.</p> - -<p>In 1636 another trouble arose. A petition to the King by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> -the shipwrights complained of the making of nails “of the -worst iron, of lesse weight, strength and goodnes then in -former tyme.” As the petitioners stated the deceits were -committed by “wholesale men who employed poor smiths,” -there was evidently a case of “sweating” in those days. -For this the Company were called upon to appear before the -Privy Council, where, of course, they would plead that they -had no power over the trade generally. Four years afterwards -the old complaint of the strangers, Leadenhall, -underselling, &c., the Ironmongers were brought before the -Corporation, and it was ordered that the Company should, -when necessary, take possession, &c. The same year, too, -the Company had to take notice of a monopoly granted by -the King to his gunfounder, of cast-iron goods, which the -Company were fortunate enough to get “called in and -overthrown.” In 1657 John Richardson, a pinmaker by -trade and Ironmonger by Company, prayed to be translated -to the newly-formed Company of Pinmakers; but as by his -copy of freedom he was to hold chiefly of the fellowship of -Ironmongers, the Court of the Company refused assent. -This custom is a peculiar one to the Ironmongers, and has -often proved a bar to progress to those desiring to join -other Guilds where promotion is more rapid.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.<br /> -<span class="smaller">FOUR HUNDRED YEARS OF THE IRONMONGERS’ -HISTORY.—II.</span></h2> - -<p>It has been asserted by some of the most violent opposers -to the Corporation of London and the City Guilds that -the Companies are part and parcel of the Corporation, that -they were incorporated for the special benefit of the trades -the names of which they are known by, that they once were, -and should still be, solely composed of such trades’ members, -and their property devoted to the artisans of such trades. -Now, with all due respect to such arguments and those who -may argue on these grounds, we must at once point out what -is always considered to be the most sensible view of the -question—that circumstances alter cases, and the merits of -each case deserve to be considered separately. Were it otherwise -there would be at once an end of our freedom and -birthright, Magna Charta, and everything else.</p> - -<p>In our previous chapters we have shown that the Ironmongers’ -charter makes no mention of the Guild as specially -incorporated for trade purposes or for the trade’s sole -benefit, and that the earliest by-laws simply conferred -the right of search and inspecting all weights and measures -“used in the same feloshippe,” and consequently did not -apply to the trade in general. In fact there was, and still -remains, no compulsion upon an ironmonger to join the Company, -although in ancient times, by charter-rights, he would -be compelled to become a freeman of the City, which, as we -have already stated, did not constitute him free of a Company -as well. The Ironmongers’ charter was confirmed by Philip -and Mary, June 20, 1558; by Queen Elizabeth, November 12, -1560; by James I., June 25, 1604; and by James II., -November 19, 1687. The grant of this last-mentioned letters -patent was made to the Companies generally after the stormy -events of the previous four years, and as some reparation for -the gross injustice done to his subjects by Charles II., when, -under the power of the writ of <i>quo warranto</i>, he seized the -City charters and disfranchised the very men who had been -his best friends. This act of the “Merry Monarch,” and the -shutting up of the Exchequer, the ruin of the goldsmiths -and bankers, and the continuous oppression of the citizens by -his brother James brought about sooner than royalty -expected the destruction of the King, “the glorious Revolution -of 1688,” and the accession of William III. on -December 12 of that year, from which time, and by special -Act in his second year, the Companies have been restored to -their ancient position and privileges. And we firmly believe the -lessons then learnt by the partisans of Charles and James, and -handed down to their descendants, have not been forgotten -by those still living in the Jubilee year of Queen Victoria. -In addition to these special charters there was yet another<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> -grant made, which, as regards their estates, is a complete -answer to those who to-day say the Ironmongers’ property is -not their own. It is “a perpetuitie” made to them and -their successors for ever by James I., dated August 4, 1619.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;" id="plate5"> -<img src="images/plate5.jpg" width="350" height="700" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">A Carved Wood Ostrich, as used in the Lord Mayor’s Pageant -of 1629.</span> (<a href="#Page_33">See pages 33-35.</a>)</p> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">A Bronze Token, representing the Geffery Almshouses, -erected 1713-14.</span> (<a href="#Page_55">See page 55.</a>)</p> -</div> - -<p>Exactly 300 years ago the ancient City of Chester was -represented in its Mayoralty chair by an ironmonger, whose -son upset the good people of the City by retailing ironmongers’ -wares, to the prejudice of the Citizens, who, by a -grant from Queen Elizabeth in 1561, had been exempted -from a duty of 2<i>s.</i> per ton upon iron imported there. And in -the same year of 1589 one Peter Newall, or Newgall, an -assistant to his father-in-law, Mr. Bavand, who appears to -have enjoyed the distinction of being “an ironmonger, a -vintner, a mercer, and a retayler of manye comodities,” -complained that David Lloyd, “a retaylinge draper,” had -“usurped the name of merchant,” for which wrongdoing the -Privy Council, the Secretary of State, the Master of the -Rolls, and all the machinery of the law was set in motion -that “the drifte of the said Lloyd shalbe ripte upp and -viewed into,” and the injury to the Citizens repaired. In -Buckingham, both in 1691 and 1706, two members of the -Blunt family were admitted into the Mercers’ Company “to -follow the trade of an ironmonger,” and both gentlemen -were subsequently Wardens of their Company. Others, too, -were admitted to follow other trades.</p> - -<p>Mr. Herbert, the Guildhall Librarian, in his Historical -Essay on the City Companies, published fifty years ago, sums -up the exactions on the Guilds by the reigning powers in -these words:—“Contributions towards setting the poor to -work, towards erecting the Royal Exchange, towards -cleansing the City ditch, and towards projects of discovering -new countries; money for furnishing military and naval -armaments; for men, arms, and ammunition to protect the -City; for State and City pageants and attendances; for -provision of coal and corn, compulsory loans, State lotteries, -monopolous patents, concealments, seditious publications and -practices, and twenty other sponging expedients were among -the more prominent of the engines by which that ‘mother of -her people,’ Elizabeth, and afterwards James and Charles, -contrived to screw from the Companies their wealth.” And -J. P. Malcolm, in the second volume of his “Londinium -Redivivum,” 1803, when giving his most valuable extracts -from the Ironmongers’ books (and who speaks of Mr. -Sumner, the then clerk of the Guild’s “politeness and -attention worthy of an enlightened man,” and so totally -different to some other of the Companies’ clerks), remarks -“that specie in their hands possessed the faculty of attracting -clouds of precepts, and that, if the Company were lavish, -the Crown was always ready to receive.” Our last chapter -proves the case, but a few more entries of another kind will -confirm the views expressed.</p> - -<p>In 1562 the Ironmongers were called upon to provide -without delay nineteen “good appte and talle persones to be -souldiers,” each of whom was to be provided with “corsletts -and weaponed with pykes and billes.” This demand meant -that if none of the Company’s members cared to serve, then -they were to find some other men that would, and accordingly -liverymen and yeomen had to assist out of their own -pockets to meet the charge. Four years later three more -soldiers were provided by the Company out of the 100 fully-armed -ordered away from the City for service in Ireland;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> -and, in 1569, no less than twenty-eight “men of honeste -behaviour” had to be found “to march against the rebells in -the north.” A few years later, in 1577, the demand -increased, for an order came for 100 “able men, apprentices, -journeymen, or others free of the City, of agilitie or honest -behaviour,” between nineteen and forty years of age, and -fully armed, for, says Malcolm in his quaint way, “the noble -art of man-killing.” The instructions issued out to these -“volunteers” are extremely curious to read, for nothing is -said in them about evolutions, advancing, retreating, or -formation into columns or squares or divisions; and, what -is more notable, each man must have been in danger every -moment of being blown into the air by his own powder! -In 1579 the Ironmongers’ proportion of the 3,000 men wanted -of the City for the defence of the realm was 110, of which -72 were to be provided with “shott, calvyʳ, flask, toche, -murryn, sword, and dagger, and a pound of powder,” and -38 with “pikes, corslett, sword, and daggʳ.” The Armada -year of 1588, and the call to arms upon that occasion will be -found fully described in the “Historical Essay,” printed in -1886; but in 1591, in order to provide the 7,000<i>l.</i> required -for manning the navy, the Ironmongers lent 344<i>l.</i>, having -two years previous received notice to have ready 1,920 lbs. -of powder. In 1643, when the Committee at Guildhall sent -a polite request to Ironmongers’ Hall desiring that fifty -barrels of gunpowder should be stored there as “a place of -safety,” the Company politely returned answer that they -could not oblige, for not only want of room, but that their -tenants next door, having Spaniards, Dutchmen, and Frenchmen -lodging in the house, might be placed in danger of no -ordinary kind.</p> - -<p>In 1596 the Companies were charged with 3,500<i>l.</i> for -providing twelve ships, two pinnaces, and 1,200 men, and -the Ironmongers lent 172<i>l.</i> The next demand made for -ships or men was in the year 1639, when 1,000<i>l.</i> was raised. -Readers of history will recollect the case of John Hampden -and the “Ship Money” impost, and the Companies’ books -prove too truly the repeated extortions. The demand on the -Ironmongers’ for men alone in the forty years previous to -1600 was something like 300, besides their full equipments, -and when we reckon the money lent, the powder provided -the other calls upon their purse, it will be fully understood -that the good old times with this Company were none of the -happiest.</p> - -<p>We will now mention another branch of the City Companies’ -“business”—the coal and corn custom. The object -was twofold: to supply the poor in times of scarcity at a -cheap rate, and to defeat the combinations of dealers. And -yet, laudable as the custom was, it is astonishing to find -from the results that much imposition was inflicted upon -the Companies, and that the demands for storage poured in -as fast as the money precepts did. As early as 1605 the -Ironmongers agreed “to provide a shipp to fetch sea coles -from Newcastle, as other of the twelve Companies intende”; -and in 1665 (the Plague year) they laid up 255 chaldrons, all -the other Companies laying in quantities in proportion. And -here we cannot omit to mention one of the bequests made by a -worthy benefactor to the Ironmongers’ Company. Margaret -Dane, the wife of Alderman William Dane (Sheriff 1569, and -twice Master of his Company), by her will, dated in 1579, -left in trust to the Company (among other munificent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> -bequests) sufficient money to provide every year 12,000 -faggots to be distributed among the poor of each of the -twenty-four City Wards, to be used by such poor persons “as -fuel to keep them warm.” To this day this bequest of three -centuries ago is carried out by the company, a certain sum -being distributed to each ward. But it will hardly be -believed when we state that the opponents to the City Companies -have gone out of their way to magnify this praiseworthy -bequest into the horrible tale that this good lady -left 12,000 faggots yearly to be used for the burning of -heretics!</p> - -<p>The provision of corn commenced as early as 1521, and -continued until the period of the Great Fire in 1666, when, -the Companies’ mills and granaries being destroyed, the -custom ceased, and was not afterwards renewed. In 1579 -eight ironmongers were deputed to go to all the City -markets and “set the price of meale”; in 1608 the Company -was assessed at 88<i>l.</i> towards erecting the granaries at -Bridewell, and another 88<i>l.</i> the following year. Yearly provisioning -the markets at Leadenhall, at Queenhithe, and -elsewhere continued until 1649, when the Company pleaded -that, through being “disabled in their estate,” they really -were unable to meet the Lord Mayor’s demand. A complete -summary of this City corn custom will be found in Herbert’s -“History of the Companies,” vol. i., pp. 132-150.</p> - -<p>We will mention a few of the “Miscellaneous” precepts -which the company were favoured with from time to time. -In 1565-66 they subscribed among themselves 100<i>l.</i> towards -“the building of the new Burse”—the first Royal Exchange. -They made loans to Yarmouth (1577), Bury St. Edmunds -(1637), and Gloucester (1643) to help those places in their -difficulties. They made a benevolence in 1604 of 40<i>s.</i> to -Messrs. Chandler & Parkhurst, for having procured the -passing in Parliament of the Bankruptcy Act, “a matter -verie beneficiall to yᵉ comonwealth.” In 1631 they agreed to -subscribe 20<i>l.</i> a year for five years towards the repairing of -St. Paul’s Cathedral, and again on the rebuilding, after the -fire of London, in 1666, they, as individual members, were -benefactors. In 1694 they gave 40<i>s.</i> to a Greek presbyter of -Larissa to help him to get back to his country; in fact, such -donations frequently occur in the books. Mr. Nicholl -remarks: “Not only are the City Companies called upon to -relieve the necessities of private indigence, but there is -scarcely any public charity whatever whose petitions for aid -are not laid before them.”</p> - -<p>In the beginning of the reign of James I. (1608-14) the -Company, with others, adventured in the New Virginia Plantation -Scheme, “to ease the Cittie and suburbs of a swarme -of unnecessarie inmates as a continuall cause of dearth and -famine, and the verie origenall of all plagues.” In 1609 the -King offered to the City of London the waste lands in Ulster -as another plantation scheme. This, the wisest act of His -Majesty, was accepted, and the Ironmongers (among other -City Companies) became thus possessed by actual purchase -(as shall be shown hereafter) of their Irish estate—the -Manor of Lizard. In 1625-27 the Company lent, or advanced, -money to the East India Company, and in 1633 to the Greenland -Company. It must be mentioned here that, having -subscribed to the Virginia Lottery, Captain John Smith subsequently -presented to the Company copies of four of his -books, all of which, unfortunately, are now missing. As<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> -the copies contained dedications (in MS.?) the loss is to be -much deplored.</p> - -<p>We now turn to more joyful matters—pageantry. The -Ironmongers were not behind in any of these. So long ago -as 1483 ten of the Company (with proportions from other -companies), dressed in murrey-coloured coats, rode to meet -the King on his entering the City, and at the subsequent -coronation, when the Lord Mayor (Sir Edmund Shaa, goldsmith, -and Alderman of Cheap Ward, the same ward over -which the present Lord Mayor in 1889 presides) acted as -chief butler at the feast, and received from the King and Queen -the wine-cups used by them as his fee, Alderman Thomas -Breten, Ironmonger, assisted his lordship in his duties. At -most of the Royal visits and coronations, and such like festivities, -the Company, with others, always had their “standing” -and precedency, and in this respect the “place” was -much contested. A proof occurs in the history of the dispute -between the Skinners and Merchant Taylors in 1484. -Upon appeal to the Lord Mayor “for norishing of peas and -love,” he decreed that from henceforth the Skinners should -dine with the Merchant Taylors at their hall one year, and -the Merchant Taylors at Skinners’ Hall the next year, -and so yearly alternately for ever should each company have -precedence. And for 400 years has this most excellent -decree been celebrated yearly, each Company toasting in the -other’s hall their “root and branch,” and wishing them “to -flourish for ever.”</p> - -<p>In 1541, when Queen Anne Bullen came from Greenwich -by water to Westminster, the Company of Ironmongers spent -no less than 9<i>l.</i> on the festivity. Their barge cost 26<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>, -and their provisions included gurnets, fresh salmon, eels, -bread and cheese, wine, claret, and a kilderkin of ale. A -reference to Nichols’s “London Pageants,” or his “Progresses” -of Queen Elizabeth and James I., will tell in full the -interesting character of these City shows, and the gorgeous -displays made by the citizens, who then, as now, never were -niggardly in their tokens of welcome. One of the most -curious of these outdoor scenes was “the setting of the -marching watch,” when 2,000 persons, apparelled in holiday -costume, with 700 lighted cressets, borne aloft, paraded the -City. A description of a visit by Henry VIII., dressed in the -costume of one of his own guards, will be found in the first -volume of Knight’s “London.” The last entry in the Ironmongers’ -books is dated 1567, but an account of expenses a -quarter of a century earlier shows that 800 cresset lights cost -2<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> per 100; a dozen straw hats, 12<i>d.</i>; armourer, 6<i>s.</i> The -Company’s banquet cost 36<i>s.</i> Among the items of the feast -were: A peece of beef, 4<i>d.</i>; a breast of veel, 7<i>d.</i>; a neck -and breast of mutton, 6<i>d.</i>; a goose, 9<i>d.</i>; four rabbits, 1<i>s.</i>; -bread, 6<i>d.</i>; butter, 1½<i>d.</i>; water, 1<i>d.</i> The cook and two -assistants, 7<i>d.</i>; six gallons of wine, 7<i>s.</i>; and a gallon of -ale, 2<i>d.</i></p> - -<p>Lord Mayor’s Day and the Lord Mayor’s Show was another -City festival red letter day from early times. Until the year -1752, when the Act for altering the calendar came into -force, the presentation of the Lord Mayor took place on -October 29, but since that year it has been November 9. -Sir John Norman, “Draper,” in 1452, was the first chief -magistrate to go to Westminster by water; Lord Mayor -Finnis, in 1856, the last. Most of the Lord Mayors have -had their shows, the pageantry at which has been most<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> -elaborate, especially during the seventeenth century. The -following is a complete list of the “Ironmonger” Lord -Mayors:—</p> - -<table summary="Lord Mayors of London who belonged to the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers, with the dates of their mayoralties"> - <tr> - <td>1409-10</td> - <td class="tdr valign" rowspan="2">}</td> - <td class="valign" rowspan="2">Sir Richard Marlow</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1417-18</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1442-43</td> - <td></td> - <td>Sir John Hatherley</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1566-67</td> - <td></td> - <td>Sir Christopher Draper</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1569-70</td> - <td></td> - <td>Sir Alexander Avenon</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1581-82</td> - <td></td> - <td>Sir James Harvey</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1592-93</td> - <td></td> - <td>Sir William Rowe</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1609-10</td> - <td></td> - <td>Sir Thomas Cambell</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1618-19</td> - <td></td> - <td>Sir Sebastian Harvey</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1629-30</td> - <td></td> - <td>Sir James Cambell</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1635-36</td> - <td></td> - <td>Sir Christopher Cletherow</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1685-86</td> - <td></td> - <td>Sir Robert Geffery</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1714-15</td> - <td></td> - <td>Sir William Humfreys, Bart.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1719-20</td> - <td></td> - <td>Sir George Thorold, Bart.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1741-42</td> - <td></td> - <td>Sir Robert Godschall (who died in his mayoralty on June 26, 1742)</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1749-50</td> - <td></td> - <td>Sir Samuel Pennant (who died in his mayoralty on May 20, 1750)</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1751-52</td> - <td></td> - <td>Robert Alsop (elected upon the death of Thomas Winterbottom, June 4, 1751)</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1762-63</td> - <td class="tdr valign" rowspan="2">}</td> - <td class="valign" rowspan="2">William Beckford (died June 21, 1770; see his monument in Guildhall)</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1769-70</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1802-03</td> - <td></td> - <td>Sir Charles Price, Bart.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1810-11</td> - <td></td> - <td>J. J. Smith, Esq. (Lord Nelson’s executor)</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>1828-29</td> - <td></td> - <td>William Thompson, Esq.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>As we have already stated, some of the early Lord Mayor’s -Shows were elaborate, and illustrative of the Company’s -trade name. They will be found chronicled in Nichols’s -“Pageants” and in Fairholt’s “Lord Mayor’s Day Pageants” -(Percy Society, 1843-45). The Guildhall Banquet tickets -during the past 100 years have been exceedingly interesting -as specimens of design and printing, the early ones being by -Bartolozzi and his school. A nearly complete set is in our -own collection, those at Guildhall, strangely enough, only -dating back some fifty years, the reason being that the show -and banquet has always been the private and personal -festival of the Lord Mayor and two Sheriffs, the former -paying a moiety of the expenses, the total generally ranging -from 2,000<i>l.</i> to 3,000<i>l.</i> It is, therefore, a vulgar error to -suppose that the Citizens and ratepayers are taxed a penny.</p> - -<p>The earliest notice of the Pageantry in the Ironmongers’ -books is 1566, but the most complete account is that at the -inauguration of Sir James Cambell, 1629, which was compiled -by Thomas Dekker, and entitled “London’s Tempe.” -It cost the Company 180<i>l.</i> There were six elaborately -“got up” pageants representing: for the water a sea lion -and two sea horses, and for the land an estridge, Lemnion’s -Forge, Tempe or the Field of Hapines, and Apollo’s Palace -representing the seven liberal sciences. The fourth or trade -pageant is worth quoting. It is described as “The Lemnion -Forge.” In it are Vulcan the Smith of Lemnos, with his -servants (the Cyclopes), whose names are Pyracmon, -Brontes, and Sceropes, working at the anvile. “Their habite -are wastcoates and leather aprons, their hair black and -shaggy, in knotted curles. A fire is seene in the forge, -bellowes blowing, some filing, some at other workes; thunder -and lightning on occasion. As the smithes are at worke they -singe in praise of iron, the anvile, and hammer, by the concordant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> -stroakes and soundes of which Tuball Cayne became -the first inventor of musicke.”</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">Brave iron! brave hammer! from your sound</div> -<div class="verse">The art of Musicke has her ground;</div> -<div class="verse">On the anvile thou keep’st time,</div> -<div class="verse">Thy knick-a-knock is a smithes best chyme.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>In proper places sit Cupid and Jove, Vulcan and Jove -alternately singing praises, the song ending thus:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse indent8">Brave Iron! what praise</div> -<div class="verse">Deserves it! more tis beate more it obeyes;</div> -<div class="verse">The more it suffers, more it smoothes offence;</div> -<div class="verse">In drudgery it shines with patience.</div> -<div class="verse">This fellowshipp was then with judging eyes</div> -<div class="verse">United to the Twelve great Companies:</div> -<div class="verse">It being farre more worthy than to fill</div> -<div class="verse">A file inferiour. Yon’s the Sun’s guilt hill;</div> -<div class="verse">On to’ot! Love guardes you on! Cyclopes, a ring</div> -<div class="verse">Make with your hammers, to whose musicke sing.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.<br /> -<span class="smaller">FOUR HUNDRED YEARS OF THE IRONMONGERS’ -HISTORY.—III.</span></h2> - -<p>The Lord Mayor’s Show of the olden time, unlike the annual -carnival of the latter half of the nineteenth century, -was in reality illustrative of the trade to which (by Company) -the chief magistrate belonged, and notwithstanding the -prejudices against pageantry at the present time, we are -staunch advocates for some annual popular display whereby -the rising generation of our great City may, like the apprentices -of old London, have visible proof that the Lord Mayor -is a reality and not invisible to his subjects, and that if -they will only put their shoulder to the wheel and emulate -Hogarth’s industrious apprentice they in time stand the best -chance of living in a big house, riding in a gilt coach, and -wearing that big gold chain which yearly makes their -appetites so keen and their eyes glisten with delight.</p> - -<p>These Lord Mayor pageants of the seventeenth century -were, as we have stated, partly a show on the Thames and -partly a show in the City streets. Designed by the City poet -of the period, the descriptions were usually printed in a small -volume and circulated among the Lord Mayor’s friends and -the members of the company. Probably the largest volume -on the subject is the reprint of the Fishmongers’ pageant of -1616, edited by J. G. Nichols in 1844, a large folio with -twelve illustrations, <i>facsimiles</i> of the original drawings. -Our own copy of this work belonged to Mr. Recorder Gurney, -and has the plates beautifully hand-painted and illuminated. -And the smallest book upon so great a subject is a 32-paged -duodecimo entitled “The Lord Mayor of London: a Sketch of -the Origin, History, and Antiquity of the Office,” printed in -1860, and containing, as we believe, every fact to that date -worth knowing about the office.</p> - -<p>There are two items in connection with the 1629 show -which must not be omitted. That “gentle angler,” Izaak -Walton, a City apprentice who had been admitted a member -of the Ironmongers’ Company eleven years before, on -November 12, 1618, was one of the thirty-two members of -the yeomanry who took part in the pageant. The “Sea -Lion” and the “Estridge,” after the day’s ceremony was over, -were brought in state to Ironmongers’ Hall, “to be sett upp -for the Company’s use.” We do not know how long the lion -remained so proudly exalted, but certainly not so long as the -world-renowned relic still called the “original” dagger with -which “brave Walworth knight Wat Tyler slew” in 1381, -and which, after being carried in many a Fishmongers’ -pageant, rests at the present time in a glass case in Fishmongers’ -Hall. The carved-wood ostrich still exists.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;" id="plate6"> -<img src="images/plate6.jpg" width="600" height="550" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Hearse-cloth, or Ironmongers’ Funeral Pall, 1515—Plate I.</span></p> -<p class="caption">“The Blessed Virgin Mary in Glory.”</p> -<p class="caption">(<a href="#Page_55">See page 55.</a>)</p> -</div> - -<p>The same year that Walton was admitted to the freedom -(1618) the Ironmongers’ pageant, exhibited a few days -previous, and at which, of course, he was unable to be a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> -representative member, was devised by Anthony Munday. -There were three special attractions—an ironmine, an -ostrich (which eats brass and iron to help its digestion!), and -a leopard, the latter a compliment to the Lord Mayor, -whose arms bore three leopards’ heads, and whose crest was -a leopard. The cost of these was 103<i>l.</i> Some of the payments -are curious to read:—Six green (wood) men, with four -assistants, who threw up fireworks as they marched along, -cost 8<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i>; two men-of-war ships cost 30<i>l.</i>; 120 chambers -or small cannon, 34<i>l.</i>, with “4 lbs. of almond comfits put in -the bullets in the cannon,” 4<i>s.</i>; banners and streamers, 36<i>l.</i>; -“a new antient staff with faire guilt head,” 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>; thirty-two -trumpeters, 24<i>l.</i>; taffety sarsnet, cloth, fringe, &c., 45<i>l.</i>; -“meat for the children’s breakfast,” 42<i>s.</i>; and marshalling -the show, 3<i>l.</i> 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> Last, but not least, there was such a -gigantic operation performed that it reads like a Chicago -event of to-day—“Removing the iron myne to the hall, -2<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>”! The next Ironmongers’ trade pageant (1635) cost -180<i>l.</i></p> - -<p>The last Lord Mayor’s Show of the seventeenth century -which the Ironmongers specially connected themselves with -was that of Sir Robert Geffery in 1685, and who subsequently -proved himself “a worthy benefactor” to the Company and -the founder of their almshouses. It was designed by -Matthew Taubman, and cost 473<i>l.</i> In his opening speech -the author reminds us:—</p> - -<p>“Though poets place the Iron Age the last, it had certainly -a being and was of use before silver or gold had a value -among the ancients. To calculate the original founders we -must go further than Tubal Cain; nor is it probable the -first Cain built such a vast city without materials and -instruments proper for so great a design in opening the -quarries and diving into the stony bowels of the earth. As -the mystery of iron-working is most ancient, so is it most -useful to the State, and most profitable to the merchant and -artificer. Iron, for the universality of its use, may be called -the efficient matter of all other mysteries, being either an -ingredient or necessary instrument in all arts and professions. -Take away the use of iron, all trading must -cease.”</p> - -<p>Taubman devised this “London’s Annual Triumph,” as he -called it, in four pageants. The first exhibited a pyramid, -on which was placed the Company’s founder, King Edward -the Fourth, with Victory associated with Vigilance, Courage, -and Conduct, and those four beautiful virgins, Triumph, -Honour, Peace, and Plenty; the second pageant was a sea -chariot; the third, a triumphal arch of loyalty, upon which -was exalted Fame, supported by Truth, Union, and Concord; -the fourth (or trade) pageant represented the Mountain of -Ætna casting forth its sulphurous matter, with Vulcan, -hammer in hand, at his anvil, attended by three Cyclops, -also at anvils, answering Brontes, Steropes, and Pyracmon, -who were forging thunderbolts for Jove and heads of arrows -for Cupid. Amidst all the din of music and noise of the -smiths were to be seen attendants throwing up ore from an -ironmine, at the entrance to which stood Polypheme, a -great giant, with only one eye, and that in the middle of his -forehead, who, with a huge iron bar in one hand and a sword -in the other, kept guard “to prevent all others but the Right -Worshipful the Company of Ironmongers (whose peculiar -prerogative it is) to enter.” Every figure in the pageant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> -acted well his part, and Vulcan and Apollo probably took the -lead, for Vulcan, addressing the Lord Mayor, sang:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">Here, sir, in iron mines of sulphurous earth,</div> -<div class="verse">Where smoak and fiery vapours take their birth,</div> -<div class="verse">We forge out thunderbolts for incenced Jove,</div> -<div class="verse">And heads of arrows for the God of Love.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>Victory declaring:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">Against cold ir’n no armour can prevail;</div> -<div class="verse">There’s no resistance in a coat of male.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>At the subsequent Guildhall banquet was sung the Company’s -song in praise of iron, and this was followed by -another specially prepared to greet the King (James the -Second), who was present.</p> - -<p>It was nothing out of the way in those times for Royalty -to dine with the citizens, with whom both kings and queens -were “hale fellows well met.” The State papers and the -Royal letters prove to the hilt that in a great many instances -the citizens would have preferred their room to their company. -The best anecdote belongs to the “merry monarch” -Charles II., who, dining at Guildhall, so “hobnob’d” with -the Lord Mayor that they did not know “the other from -which.” The King, however, managed to leave without -ceremony, and was just getting into his coach in Guildhall -Yard when my Lord Mayor, discovering his loss, overtook -him, and begged “Mr. King” to return and “take t’other -bottle,” which, no doubt, he did, not forgetting a few days -later to send to my lord his little bill for the usual loan!</p> - -<p>In recent years the City Companies have taken up the -question of technical education, and it cannot be denied that -in many instances they have excelled themselves in this most -praiseworthy work. If any reform is wanted, both Royalty -and Government are the last to do it, but with the City -Guilds, notwithstanding what is said against them, they have -been found to the fore when anything beneficial to the people -is required to be carried out, although in many instances -they have neither been compelled to do it nor has it been -beneficial to themselves in particular. From time to time -the Companies had subscribed largely to the charities, &c., of -societies not always of their special trade; but in January, -1860, the Painters’ Stainers’ Company took the lead in quite -another direction by giving notice that in June following -they would hold an exhibition of decorative works at their -Hall in Little Trinity Lane, Cannon Street. There were -thirty-five exhibitors, and this, the first exhibition of its -kind, proving eminently successful, was held again the following -year, and has been repeated upon many occasions -since. The next Company’s announcement was that of the -Ironmongers, who held a conversazione and exhibition of ironwork -and curiosities in May, 1861, and, although this was -not a trade exhibition, but promoted by the London and -Middlesex Archæological Society, yet it brought together such -a remarkable collection as had never before been seen in a -City Company’s hall. In proof of this there is in print a -very scarce volume entitled “A Catalogue of the Antiquities -and Works of Art Exhibited at Ironmongers’ Hall, London, -in the Month of May, 1861,” edited by the well-known -Shakesperian scholar, the late G. R. French, at that time -surveyor to the Company. So laborious was the editing of -this ponderous volume, of 642 large quarto pages—for Mr. -French was compelled at last to rely on his own resources in -order to complete the book—that it was not issued until -August, 1869. The actual cost of the book will never be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> -known, for Mr. French died in October, 1881, and all the -remaining copies, the drawings, the wood blocks of the 331 -illustrations, and a large quantity of the original MSS. -relating to the exhibition, the book, &c., had been already -dispersed. The “Catalogue,” however, will keep his memory -before the public long after everything else will have passed -away. In this volume will be found described and illustrated, -not only the charters, the plate, and other curiosities belonging -to the Ironmongers, but also those belonging to other -corporations, and the principal owners of iron and other -antiquities and curios.</p> - -<p>As we have said, the exhibition was opened in May, 1861. -Over 600 persons attended the private view on Wednesday -the 8th, 420 were present on the 9th, 1,345 on the 10th, and -1,678 on the 11th and last day—in all, more than 4,000 -persons, each of whom on entering signed his or her name in -a book still preserved by the Company. On the fourth day -the Prince Consort attended, and he signed his name in the -Court book. It was the regret of every one that, owing to -the immense value of the antiquities, &c., the exhibition could -not be kept open longer. Since 1861 the Ironmongers have -had several other interesting meetings, and at the end of the -month of March, 1889, the Blacksmiths, by special permission, -held its first trade exhibition in the same building, -following, as they do in this laudable work, the Fishmongers’, -Plumbers’, Fanmakers’, Turners’, Carpenters’, Shipwrights’, -Horners’, Coachmakers’, and other City Guilds.</p> - -<p>A most important step was taken in 1872, when the Ironmongers -joined the other City Guilds in the promotion of -technical education. Mr. Henry Grissell, an old ironmaster -and then senior warden, represented the Company at the -meetings. Speaking of this great movement, the report of -the City Livery Companies’ Commission in 1884 tells us:—“The -subject of technical education has within the last few -years been taken up by the Companies. The Clothworkers’ -Company has promoted the establishment of Yorkshire -College at Leeds, where instruction is given in the manufacture -of woollen goods, and similar institutions at Bradford, -Huddersfield, and other places, the present seats of its former -trade. The City and Guilds of London Institute for the -Advancement of Technical Education has also recently been -formed. It is an association consisting of representatives of -the City of London, and of most of the more considerable -Livery Companies, and the funds which have been placed at -its disposal by the City and the Companies are very large. A -building fund of upwards of 100,000<i>l.</i> has been contributed, -and annual subscriptions have been promised -amounting to about 25,000<i>l.</i> a year. The former sum has -been, or is being, expended on a technical college in Finsbury -and a central institution in South Kensington.” When we -state that the technical education scheme is likely to cost -the companies 50,000<i>l.</i> a year, no one should say a word -against them, but rather applaud the City for having -inaugurated a grand work without Government aid or the -support of the great employers of labour in outer London.</p> - -<p>The attacks made in Parliament during the past quarter -of a century against the City Companies have so far fallen -back with a crushing defeat upon the enemy. Mr. Maguire’s -Irish spoliation scheme of 1868 and 1869 ended, as it was -expected it would, in proving then (as now) that there are -many worse-managed estates there than those belonging -to the City Guilds. In 1876 and 1877 Mr. James distinguished -himself by also attacking the Companies, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> -upon three occasions had the majority of the House against -his spoliation designs. Then, again, the “Royal Commission” -of 1880 has enabled our descendants to possess the finest -collection of historical details relating to the Companies it is -possible to get together, and for that alone—not for having -obtained the information at so serious an outlay to the Companies -and the public purse—historical students are truly -thankful.</p> - -<p>We will now say a few words about the livery and the -yeomanry, or freemen generally, which, unlike any other -City Company, form the only two grades of membership in -the Ironmongers (all the livery forming the court); and this -exception, together with the rarity of the oldest yeoman -being considered eligible for the “Clothing,” makes this -Company in every particular as regards the term Livery -Company unique. We are very sorry it is so, because there -are many of the freemen who are not only eligible by time -service, but are in many other ways equally eligible by their -devoted interest and their ability; while the peculiar order -of the Guild prevents them being members of other Companies -where their services, &c., would be more appreciated.</p> - -<p><i>The Livery.</i>—The introduction of liveries into the City -Companies took place 600 years ago. The chief members -wore a gown or cloak with hood, and for distinction sake -each Company had its own colours; but we cannot learn -what the Ironmongers’ were. Edward IV.’s charter is -directed to “all the freemen of the mystery and art of Ironmongers,” -and appoints “one master and two keepers or -wardens, and the commonalty” and their successors to have -perpetual succession, with powers to frame ordinances, &c. -The ordinances of 1498 (in which the warden was made -responsible in selecting the necessary cloth at the drapers) -were revised in the reign of Elizabeth, and finally approved, -as stated in our fourth chapter, in February, 1581. Four -quarterly courts were to be held, at which the livery called -“the Clothing” were to pay their quarterage, and those -neglecting to attend were to be fined 2<i>s.</i> And at these -courts the yeomanry were to appear and also pay their -quarterage. And upon the admittance of a member of the -yeomanry to the livery he was to pay 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> upon receiving -“his pattern of his lyverie.” Those not paying fines to be -sent to prison. There does not appear to be a record -officially fixing the strength of the livery. The earliest -complete list is dated 1537, when it appears that the number -was 59, at the head being William Denham (Alderman) and -Thomas Lewen (Sheriff of London). In 1570 there were -54 liverymen. In 1687, before the restoration patent of -James II., the list comprised a master, 2 wardens, 44 assistants, -and 16 liverymen—in all 60, or one more than in the -list just 150 years previous. In 1710 the list was 95, but in -1776 the court had increased to 100. In 1801 there were -97 all told; in 1828, 85; in 1833 again 98; in 1847, 82; in -1857, 99; in 1867, 84; since which time there has been a -gradual decrease, the total numbering only 48 last year. -Now this is an extraordinary decline, and we should not have -collected all these numbers had it not been that for some -years past the yeomanry, among whom are many worthy -and representative men, have been discussing their chance -of obtaining “the clothing,” seeing that “calls” to the court -are by no means regular, and when they do take place -younger men, generally sons or relatives of those already on -the court, are chosen over the heads of “antient” yeomen -equally capable, and certainly more so by long connection<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> -with the Company, of looking after its interests, their position -in the commercial world being a guarantee that they -would serve their brethren without the “fee or reward” -about which the Royal Commission on the Companies had -so much to say. The ancient dress or costume of a liveryman -in his cap and furred robe is shown in the Leather-sellers’ -charter facsimiles in the magnificent quarto work -on that Guild, edited by the late W. H. Black, for the Company -in 1871. From time to time many ordinances were -made about the citizens’ dress, special reprimands to the -livery being administered in 1619 and 1677 for not appearing -in their gowns; and in 1698 the Corporation issued an -order that in future no one should join as a liveryman one of -the twelve Companies unless he had an estate of 1,000<i>l.</i>, or -one of the minor Guilds under 500<i>l.</i> By an order passed in -1790 no servant is eligible for election on the livery. In -1627 a very curious dispute arose between Humphrey Hook, -then residing at Bristol, where he had served municipal -offices, and the court, they calling upon him to be their -warden, he having been a freeman twenty-four years. The -Company appears to have won the case.</p> - -<p><i>The Yeomanry</i> are the freemen of the Company generally, -and about 300 in number. Although not of the “Clothing” -(livery) a yeoman was described by an authority in 1759 as -being of military origin, and in many respects equal to an -esquire, the former fighting with arrows and bows made of -yew tree, the latter carrying for distinction and defence a -shield. In the ordinances of 1581 it was laid down that the -yeomanry should pay their quarterage of 4<i>d.</i> a quarter, and -that the wardens of the livery should, when necessary, help -the “wardens of the yeomanry”; the four quarter-days are -specially named as July 25, or St. James’ day, October 18, -being St. Luke’s day, New Year’s day, and the Wednesday -in Easter week, on which last-named day the new warden -of the yeomanry should be elected for two years, there -having been two wardens allowed by petition in 1497. All -members failing to appear on these days were fined. It was -also decreed that two suppers should be kept yearly at the -hall, for which the wardens were allowed 33<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> Mr. -Nicholl, the Company’s historian, states that the wardens of -the yeomanry stand in the same position to their body as the -wardens of the livery do; but of late years, their duties -having declined, only one warden now represents the freemen. -The quarterage, too, of 16<i>d.</i> per annum has for many years -past ceased to be collected, and the two meetings and -suppers at the hall, which formerly took place on election -day and St. Luke’s day (by and under the authority of the -ancient ordinances of 1581, confirmed by the Lord Chancellor -in 1590, assisted by the will in 1653 of “a worthy -benefactor,” none other than the clerk of the Company, -Ralph Handson, and finally approved by the Charity Trustees -in 1876), were in the year 1830 discontinued, and two -dinners appointed to take place at the hall in their stead. -At these meetings and festivals, which are proved to be no -unimportant rights, the senior warden of the livery presides, -drinking health and prosperity to the yeomanry “root and -branch, and may they flourish for ever”; their warden replying, -and desiring his brethren in return to drink to the -health of the senior warden. These are the only occasions -when the members have the opportunity and pleasure of -meeting in a body, and may the ancient custom—which by -special ordinances became the freemen’s right—long continue -is a wish echoed by the whole Company. Formerly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> -the bread and cheese and ale repast was obtained from the -old King’s Head Tavern opposite the hall in Fenchurch -Street, and it was within the walls of the New London -Tavern, erected on its site, that the warden of the yeomanry -for the year 1888 held the St. Luke’s day meeting, and by -discoursing to his brethren upon the history and antiquity -of the Company, and exhibiting a number of curiosities -relating to the Ironmongers, not only brought together a -most enthusiastic audience, but for the first time in the -recollection of the yeomanry made them feel interested in -their Guild, and to pass a resolution never to permit the -opportunity of meeting twice a year (by virtue of the old -ordinance) to lapse in the future.</p> - -<p>The freedom of the Ironmongers’ Company is obtainable -by patrimony (as children of freemen, for there have been -free women admitted), servitude (as apprentices to freemen), -and redemption (by payment of one hundred guineas, or -honorary presentation); but, curious to relate, although -there are members of the Company “learned in the law” at -the present time (as freemen by patrimony), no attorney is -eligible for election by redemption. By ordinance dated -1657 no person is to change the copy of his freedom, and by -an order of Court made November 21, 1878, “no person who -is free of any other Company can be admitted to the freedom -of the Ironmongers’ Company, nor can he become free of -another Company after being admitted to the freedom of -this Company.” This order necessarily makes the Ironmongers -a select body corporate, and unlike the other Companies -of the City. Upon being elected freeman the -member makes a declaration accordingly, and when elected -warden he takes the warden’s oath to look after the Company’s -welfare during his term of office. The beadle of the -Company half-yearly sends out the notices: “You are -desired by the warden of the yeomanry to meet at Ironmongers’ -Hall” (on the day of election, or St. Luke’s) “when -a court will be holden in the usual manner.” At this court -the warden presides and signs the freemen’s book, as do -also such members who may be present. The beadle, having -previously written to those of the yeomanry eligible for -office of warden, submits the replies to the court. The -election is entirely by their own vote, and selected from -those present; and we believe for the first time in 1881, -when Mr. F. W. Pellatt was chosen. The warden of the -following year (Mr. Alfred Marshall, C.E.) was re-elected in -1883, he having taken an active part in the freemen’s -interest; and at the election in 1888 (the Armada Tercentenary -celebration year) the warden chosen was the -author of the “Historical Essay” upon the Spanish Armada, -who, being a member of the Plymouth and London committees, -was selected in commemoration of the Company’s -zeal at the time of the threatened invasion 300 years previous. -At the yeomanry meeting at Easter, 1883, a special -vote of condolence with the family was recorded in the -minute-book upon the decease of “its much respected clerk, -Simon Adams Beck, Esq., who for the long period of nearly -fifty years so ably discharged the duties of his very important -office.” The death of Mr. Beck, who was at one time -Governor of the Gas Light and Coke Company—the district -in which the works are situated being now known as Beckton—was -a sad loss to every member of the Ironmongers’ Company. -His portrait appropriately hangs close to that of Mr. -John Nicholl, the Company’s historian, in the court-room at -the hall.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE APPRENTICES, THE HALL, AND THE IRISH -ESTATE.</span></h2> - -<p>The London apprentice of the olden time was as different -a personage to the ’prentice lad of to-day as the streets -of the City are now unlike the thoroughfares of two or three -centuries ago. The ancient Guild ordinances relating to -apprentices prove that they were considered a most important -part of the establishment of a citizen, and this is -not to be wondered at when we consider that not only the -trade of his master, but the trade of London, depended -entirely upon the skilled artisan and craftsman’s ability, -without which all the money-bags of the merchant were of -little use. We could fill a volume with the history and -anecdotes of the apprentice, but must content ourselves by -giving a brief summary only; and the notes that we do give -will show that our apprentices were not unworthy of the -City, notwithstanding they were never backward in crying -“Clubs! clubs!” and eager for the fray. In every festival, -on the “high days and holidays” of civic life, at the -marching watch or a Lord Mayor’s Show, at “going a -Maying” to Shooters’ Hill, and archery practice in Finsbury -Fields, the apprentice was an expected visitant. As he -existed in the days of James I., Sir Walter Scott, in his -“Fortunes of Nigel,” conveys to us a presentable and true -picture.</p> - -<p>Since the year 1662, no sooner was a boy aged fourteen -than a master was found, and to him he was “bound” to -serve, to follow his master’s trade, and to learn it until the age of -twenty-one, when, having proved a good apprentice, he was -admitted to the freedom of the Company to which such -master belonged. Sometimes his master in the meantime -died, and that necessitated his being “turned over” to -another employer. If the boy misbehaved himself, then the -Company and the Chamberlain took him in hand, and, if -incorrigible, to Bridewell he was sent. It neither benefited -the Corporation, the Company, nor the master to take too -severe measures, and in recent years the cases have been few -where correction has been administered, although to our -minds it should have been oftener; and instances, too, have -occurred where the master ought to have paid the penalty as -well.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;" id="plate7"> -<img src="images/plate7.jpg" width="450" height="700" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">St. Elizabeth.</span></p> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">St. John the Evangelist.</span> <span class="smcap">St. John the Baptist.</span></p> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Hearse-cloth, or Ironmongers’ Funeral Pall. 1515.—Plate II.</span></p> -<p class="caption">(<a href="#Page_55">See page 55.</a>)</p> -</div> - -<p>The earliest enrolment of a City apprentice was in the -reign of Edward II., or five centuries and a half ago. There -is a curious case recorded in the Guildhall Letter-book II, -folio 42, of the year 1376, when William Grendone, <i>alias</i> -Credelle, a scrivener, was sent to Newgate and fined for -making a false indenture between William Ayllesham, a -goldsmith, and Nicholas, the son of William Flourman. The -indenture was for nine years, and the surety, instead of the -father of the boy, was named as “the Cross at the North<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> -Door.” This cross—Broken Cross, or the Stone Cross—was -at the north door of St. Paul’s, and, having been erected in -the reign of Henry III., remained there until 1390, and in -those superstitious ages any transaction there was, as a rule, -considered binding. Each cross in the City had certain -stalls, or stands, or stations, and these from time to time -were let to persons who thus became Stationers, and in -course of time left these stations at the Cross, and took up -their position in and about Paternoster Row.</p> - -<p>The Ironmongers’ ordinance for the year 1498 (confirmed -by the Judges February 16, 1581) specially -mentions the apprentice, as we have shown in our fourth -chapter. The housing, the clothing, and the general welfare -of the boy were fully set down, even to the command that -the master “shall not suffre his (the apprentice’s) here to -growe to long!” Again, “Every maister is sworne at the -Guyldehall to make his prentice free wᵗʰout any cost or -charge to the prentice”—a custom, we regret to say, long -ago forgotten; and a century and a half after the making -of the ordinance it was further ordered that any master -putting in an appearance with the boy at the hall “before he -have orderly cutt and barbed his hayre to the liking of the -Mʳ and Wardens of the Company” was to be fined twenty -shillings. One of the best City ordinances was that preventing -the early marrying of artisans, in 1556—a custom -which had produced “povertie, penurie, and lacke of livyng.” -The Act recites:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>That by reason of the over hastie marriges and over some setting up of -housholdes of and by the youth and young folkes of the sayde citie wᶜʰ -hath comonly used and yet do, to marry themselves as sone as ever thay -come oute of theyr apprenticehode be thaye never so young and unskilful, -yea and often tymes many of them so poore that they scantly have of -theire proper goodeyes wherewith to buye theire marriage apparel, and -to furnish ther houses with implements and other thinges necessary for -the exercise of ther of ther occupacons whereby they should be able to sustayne -themselves and theire family;</p> - -</div> - -<p>therefore, for the remedy it was ordered that all apprentices -in future should not be made free until the age of -twenty-four, at which age his apprenticeship is to expire, -and any master violating the order to pay a fine of 20<i>l.</i> It -is a curious coincidence, too, that in the original rules, dated -September, 1557, for the government of “the House of -Bridewell,” which hospital the City had recently obtained -from Edward VI., there is a special ordinance relating to the -oversight of “the Nail House”:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>Now for the setting on work of the idle; it shall be very requisite that -with as much speed, and as conveniently as yᵉ may, that yᵉ increase the -number of apprentices being taught in the said faculty and discharge the -number of journeymen, to the intent the same apprentices being themselves -perfect and absolute therein may train and teach such of our poor -children or other needy people as hereafter we shall call out of the hateful -life of idleness.</p> - -</div> - -<p>As already stated, the overseers, artmasters, taskmasters, -workmasters, or artificers, for the foremen of the Bridewell -shops, where the boys were taught clothworking, weaving, -pinmaking, &c., were so called, had under their charge sometimes -150, and as many as 250. Two of the hospital minute -entries tell us:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>1602, Oct. 21.—Richard Brookes, fustian weaver, engages to take during -seven years next ensuing 40 vagrant boyes and wenches of this city as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> -apprentices to keep in diett, apparell, washing and wringing: the said -R. Brookes to receive with every of the said children at their coming clean -apparell and 10<i>l.</i> yearly.</p> - -<p>1604, February 20.—Francis Ackland, pinmaker, engages to take -40 vagrant boys as apprentices.</p> - -</div> - -<p>And in 1606 the minute-book reports the order that the -names of all proposed apprentices brought into the House of -Bridewell shall be registered, as also the master’s name. -During the last century the apprentices in the house -gradually declined, for in 1708 there were 140, in 1768 only -60, in 1789 only 36, and in 1791 only 26, illustrating but too -forcibly the change in the times. It is probably not generally -known that in the olden time the Bridewell boys upon the -ringing of the fire-bell by the beadle used to drop their tools -and start off to the fire, wherever it was situate in the -metropolis. The result was:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>They were active, to be sure, and serviceable; but what were the consequences -to themselves? They were thrown among all those profligates -which a fire collects in the streets. They got liquor, they got money, and -frequently roamed about the town all night without controul. The -masters lost the benefit of the next day’s labour; and not seldom boys -were hurt, and for a long time disabled from working. It is about -20 years since this very pernicious practice was restrained.</p> - -</div> - -<p>By the above quotations, written in 1798, we have shown -that Bridewell was not only a House of Correction for City -vagrants, but was from its foundation a real workhouse -and artisans’ workshop. Many ignorant and misinformed -persons have before now gone out of their way to abuse this -institution, and declare that it never was put to the use the -royal founder intended. We could multiply our proofs that -Bridewell always was a useful house until Government, more -than a century ago, meddled with the City management, -and spoilt this and Christ’s Hospital as well.</p> - -<p>Another ancient ordinance of the City is dated 1582, when -every freeman was charged to take such steps necessary to -prevent, and not to suffer under any circumstances, “servants, -apprentices, journemen, or children, to repare or goe -to annye playes, peices or enterludes, either wiᵗʰn the Citie -or suburbs,” under the severe pains and penalties “at the -discretion of me and my brethren.” Exactly a century later, -on August 9, 1682, some 2,000 apprentices of London, who -had taken active steps in the address to Charles II. for the -support of the institution, were feasted in Merchant Taylors’ -Hall, the king specially sending them two fat bucks for the -occasion.</p> - -<p>The following is a copy of an original apprenticeship -indenture, dated 1676. It is printed on vellum, 7 by 4 inches -in size, the names and date being the only portions written:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 200px;"> -<img src="images/shield.jpg" width="200" height="230" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Shield of the Ironmongers’ Arms</span></p> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">This Indenture</span> Witnesseth that Clement Aleyn, -Sonn of Clement Aleyn, of Welton, in the County -of Northampton, Gentleman, doth put himself -Apprentice to Samuell Clerke, Citizen and <span class="smcap">Ironmonger</span> -of London, to learn his Art: and with him -(after the manner of an Apprentice) to serve from -the day of the date hereof unto the full end and -term of Seaven Years from thence next following -to be fully complete and ended. During which -term the said Apprentice his said Master shall faithfully serve, his -secrets keep, his lawful commandments everywhere gladly do. He shall do -no damage to his said Master, nor see to be done of others, but that he to -his power shall let or forthwith give warning to his said Master of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> -same. He shall not waste the goods of his said Master, nor lend them -unlawfully to any. He shall not commit fornication nor contract -matrimony within the said term. He shall not play at Cards, Dice, Tables, -or any other unlawful Games, whereby his said Master may have any -loss with his own goods or others during the said term without license -of his said Master, he shall neither buy nor sell. He shall not haunt -Taverns or Playhouses, nor absent himself from his said Master’s service -day or night unlawfully. But in all things as a faithful Apprentice he -shall behave himself towards his said Master and all his during the said -term. And the said Master his said Apprentice in the same Art which -he useth by the best means that he can, shall teach and instruct, or -cause to be taught and instructed, finding unto his said Apprentice meat, -drink, apparel, lodging, and all other necessaries, according to the custom -of the City of London during the said term. And for the true performance -of all and every the said Covenants and Agreements either of -the said parties bindeth himself unto the other by these presents. In -witness whereof the parties above named to these Indentures interchangeably -have put their hands and Seals the Three and Twentieth -day of Maye, Anno Dom. 1676, and in the xxviijth Year of the Reign of our -Sovereign Lord King Charles the Second over England, &c.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Clement Aleyn.</span></p> - -<p>Sealed and dd. in the pres. of Tho. Heatly, Clerke.</p> - -</div> - -<p>By the Act of Common Council, passed March, 1889, -apprentices can now be bound for four years instead of seven, -and instead of the master being compelled (as of old) to -make the apprentice an indoor servant, he is to pay wages -sufficient to keep the boy in food, clothing, &c., elsewhere, as -may be arranged. This term of four years also entitles the -apprentice to his freedom if the bindings are to citizens, and -effected by the Chamberlain and the Companies. The Ironmongers -so long ago as January, 1863, had (when desired) -adopted the five years’ term, but then, while it gave the boy -the Company’s freedom, it did not confer that of the City. -Thus, at last, in this official four years’ term, we have arrived -at a most satisfactory settlement of a long and often heart-burning -grievance.</p> - -<p>The Ironmongers’ Hall, where the bindings take place and -the Company’s business transacted, is situated in Fenchurch -Street, one house westward of Billiter Street. The original -ground upon which the premises stand was purchased by -nineteen ironmongers, members of the ancient Guild, in -October, 1457, and the original purchase deeds still exist to -prove that the site is the private property of the descendants -of those nineteen brethren of the Guild—if there is really -any law extant that freehold property belongs to the “root -and branch” of a true-born Englishman. The Hall is mentioned -in 1479 as being in the parish of All Hallows Staining, -in the Ward of Aldgate. Between the parochial authorities -and the Company long existed a dispute upon the burning -question of tithes, until some twenty years ago it reached -the crisis. A warrant was issued, and four of the candelabra -and two of the loving cups were “in a friendly way,” in order -to test the case, placed on a table in the Hall and momentarily -seized by the official, and as quickly restored upon the -usual bonds being given for the superior Court’s decision. A -few years before—in 1862—some beautiful specimens of -ornamental ironwork, which the company had erected in the -Corporation pew in the church as rests for the sword and -mace, suddenly disappeared, but upon question raised as -suddenly returned. There is a funny entry in the church-wardens’ -accounts of this parish for the year 1494: “Payd for -a kylcherkyn of good ale, which was drunkyn in the Yrynmongers’<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> -Hall, all chargis born xij<i>s.</i> ij<i>d.</i>” We should like to -know what brought about this merry-making 400 years ago. -Could it have been “a parochial settlement” of the dispute -of 1479?</p> - -<p>In Aggas’s map of the City, of the reign of Elizabeth, -Ironmongers’ Hall is depicted as a range of buildings (among -which was the clerk’s residence). There was no entrance -from Fenchurch Street, but only through a long garden -having entry from Leadenhall Street. That there was a -garden to the Hall is certain, because in the records, about -the year 1540, there are numerous interesting entries similar -to these:—</p> - -<table summary="Entries from the records"> - <tr> - <td>ffor a gardener ffor a daye and a hallffe ffor cuttyng - of vynes and dressing of rosses</td> - <td class="tdpg">xij<i>d.</i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>to a gardener for V dayes worke</td> - <td class="tdpg">iij<i>s.</i> iiij<i>d.</i></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>ffor cutting of the knotts of yᵉ rosemarie in the garden</td> - <td class="tdpg">x<i>d.</i></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>The first Hall remained until 1585, when, being found -“ruinous and in greate decay,” it was rebuilt, and a kitchen -erected. The cost was large—something like 600<i>l.</i>—but the -ground covered was somewhat extensive. Tapestry was -ordered for the Hall in 1590, and in 1629 further additions -were made. In 1686 new sundials were erected, and in 1701 -a new wall was put up to prevent the persons in the tavern -next door looking across the Company’s garden into the -private apartments of the Company. In 1707 a mulberry -tree was planted in the garden, and in 1719 some new lime -trees, so that the Ironmongers’ garden was quite a rural -retreat, and like the Drapers’ garden, which has only of late -years been covered over by bricks and mortar.</p> - -<p>The second Ironmongers’ Hall was not burnt in the great -fire of 1666, although it was surrounded by the destructive -demon. A certain William Christmas, shipwright, did some -good service to the Company upon the occasion, so that in -March, 1667, he received a gratuity. In 1677 the Corporation -ordered all public buildings to keep leather buckets, -hand-squirts, &c., to be ready in case of fire, and the Ironmongers -provided themselves with thirty buckets, one engine, -six pickaxes, three ladders, and two squirts, the latter being -of brass, 3 feet long and 9 inches diameter. To this day -may be seen some, if not the, buckets, hanging in the vestibule -of the Hall. In 1699 the music-room was repaired; in -1707 a lion and unicorn was put up in the court-room.</p> - -<p>The third, and present, Ironmongers’ Hall was erected -from the designs of T. Holden, and at a cost of about 5,000<i>l.</i>, -about 1748. It was not completed until 1750, when, on -February 13 that year, a ball was given at the opening, and -a hogshead of port wine, half a chest of oranges, and other -good things were consumed at the feast. A full description -of the Hall and its interesting contents will be found in -Malcolm’s “Londinium Redivivum,” vol. ii. 1803, pp. 32-62. -The Hall was repaired in 1817, and in 1827 a light corridor -connecting the grand staircase with the drawing-room was -erected, and two years later the four handsome columns and -pilasters were put up in the drawing-room. Just about a -century after the erection of the present Hall it underwent -an entire redecoration, and was reopened once more with a -ball on June 8, 1847. The banqueting-room is 70 feet long -and 29 feet wide. A carved panelled dado, 8 feet high, is -carried round the room, having in the upper compartments -the arms in proper colours of the past masters from the -recognised foundation in 1351. The windows, as seen from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> -the street, are curious as presenting seven different styles, -and only equalled, we believe, by a house in Berkeley Square, -where, out of eleven windows, seven are of different kinds. -Mr. Nicholl gives a full description of the Hall and its contents -as existing in 1866 in his “Some Account,” pp. 421-467. -The portraits of eminent members hang on the walls of the -banqueting-room and in the court-room, two of the latest in -the latter room being those of Mr. John Nicholl, F.S.A., the -Company’s historian, and Mr. S. Adams Beck, who for nearly -fifty years was the clerk and sincere friend of the Company, -as mentioned in our last chapter.</p> - -<p>From Ironmongers’ Hall were conducted the last remains -of many a notable member or citizen in the olden time. The -funeral pall or hearse cloth used on these occasions was the -gift of John Gyva, ironmonger, in 1515, and Elizabeth, his -wife. It is of crimson velvet and cloth of gold tissue, and is -described and illustrated at pages 454-7 of Mr. French’s -“Catalogue.” Notes of the sixteenth century funerals are -given in “The Diary of Henry Machyn” (Camden Society), -1848. In the “Diary of Samuel Pepys” he tells us of the -funeral from the Hall in November, 1662, of Sir Richard -Stayner, where “good rings” were distributed and the -mourners had “a four-horse coach,” in which he by mistake -took a place.</p> - -<p>There have been many meetings at the Hall, some of -national and others of great civic interest, especially in the -making free and entertainments to distinguished men like -Lords Hood and Exmouth. In 1694 the Company let the -Hall for a lottery, which was called “the best and fairest -chance at last,” and five years later the whole of the old -armour then standing in and about the premises was sold to -Mr. Thomas Saunders for eight guineas, “the musketts -2<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> apiece!” It is not generally known that the national -anthem of “God Save the King,” so repeatedly sung at the -old City feasts and all over the world, was the composition -of Dr. John Bull, who, with the children of the King’s -Chapel, sung and played it before James I. and Prince -Henry at the Merchant Taylors’ Hall feast, July 16, 1607. In -Ironmongers’ Hall have dined Dr. Livingstone, Admiral -Dawes, and Sir Garnet Wolseley, the latter just before leaving -England for the Gold Coast. An interesting article, entitled -“Banqueting with the Ironmongers,” and giving a good -picture of these modern entertainments, appeared in the -<i>City Press</i>, August 21, 1875. The Company’s plate is not so -extensive as that possessed by some of the City Guilds. The -collection will be found described by Mr. French in his -“Catalogue,” pp. 616-624. There are two mazer bowls -(thirteenth to sixteenth century drinking-vessels), of which -only fifty are supposed to be extant, and therefore curious -and interesting. They are described by Mr. St. John Hope -in “Archæologia,” vol. 50, 1887, pp. 129-193. In the old -views of the exterior of the Hall are shown the houses on the -east side adjoining Billiter Street. These were pulled down -and rebuilt some twenty years ago. Finally, in bringing our -description of the Hall to a close, we cannot forbear mentioning -a curious fact. In the first report of the City Livery -Companies’ Commission, 1884, p. 36, there is a list given of -all the existing halls of the City Guilds, thirty-four in -number, and yet the Ironmongers’ (one of the twelve) has -been omitted!</p> - -<p>We shall conclude this chapter by noticing the Irish estate -of the Ironmongers’ Company, called “The Manor of Lizard,”<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> -about seven miles from Coleraine, and skirting the river -Bann, in the province of Ulster, the total area of which is -between 12,000 and 13,000 acres, occupied as 550 holdings, -with a population of about 2,800 persons all told. The net -receipts from rents come to about 4,000<i>l.</i> a year. The estate -is scattered over five parishes, and until recent years has -been a great anxiety to the Company, who, having, like other -Guilds, in former times let their lands as a whole to certain -responsible persons, receiving a yearly rent, found out too -late then that these persons, some of whom were resident, -grossly neglected the well-being of both the property and the -people. In 1766 the Company leased the estate to Josias du -Pre, Esq., for sixty-one years and three lives. In 1813 he -sold the remainder of his lease to the Beresford family. The -last life mentioned in the lease was that of the Bishop of -Meath, who died in his eighty-third year in 1840. The -Hon. the Irish Society reported that year:—“The present -holders seem only to have used the property for the purpose -of making the most of it during the term of their lease,” -consequently when the Company took possession they found -it no easy matter to put the estate in that order which they -so long desired to do. Through their energetic agents they -have at last succeeded, after terribly uphill work, and we -believe the tenantry now find out the truth of the Irish -Society’s report in 1838, which stated, “This estate upon the -death of the Bishop of Meath passes into the hands of the -Company, and we have no doubt that it will prove a source -of much happiness to the tenantry when they shall be placed -under the immediate superintendence of that body.”</p> - -<p>The origin of the purchase of this estate arose through the -rebellion in Ireland, in the reign of Elizabeth, when the -O’Neills and the O’Dohertys were in the possession of the -province of Ulster. In order to suppress the revolt the army -was sent over in 1566, and encamped in Derry County. -The lands were subsequently confiscated, and when James I. -came to the throne he found them such a source of trouble -that he or his Ministers devised the scheme of selling the -whole property, being, as we have said, confiscated -from traitors to the Crown. The King also instituted the -order of Baronets to such persons who would pay towards -the charges of the reclamation of the waste lands and the -new plantation, and peopling with Protestants the North of -Ireland, and that is why the red hand of Ulster will be -found in a baronet’s coat of arms. After much trouble the -City of London were offered the Irish estates, which the -Companies jointly purchased for 40,000<i>l.</i> This sum was -subscribed by fifty-five of the Guilds, being the twelve great -and forty-three minor Companies. The great ones were to -manage for the lesser, the Ironmongers being associated -with the Brewers, Scriveners, Coopers, Pewterers, Barbers, -Surgeons, and Carpenters, paying 3,333<i>l.</i> 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> as their -share, calling their portion the Manor of Lizard, from the -crest of their arms. “This manor was created by the Irish -Society in October, 1618, and was conveyed to the Ironmongers’ -on November 7 following, to the only use and -behoof of the said Company, their successors, and assigns -for ever.” In May, 1613, the Coopers’ Company’s share was -taken over by the Corporation of London, and the Irish -Society of the City of London, incorporated by royal charter -March 29, 1613, was made a body corporate to carry out the -plantation of the City and County of Londonderry, which -cost them from first to last before completed nearly 100,000<i>l.</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> -To this day the citizens of London annually visit Ireland, -the last visit in 1888 being more than usually important, as -the two-hundredth anniversary of the memorable siege of -Derry, now Londonderry, in 1688, about which so much has -been written and said. The following works may be consulted -as giving true details of the plantation scheme, one -of, if not the wisest of, the schemes of the first King James:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>“A Concise View of the Irish Society,” 1822.</p> - -<p>“An Historical Narrative of the Irish Society,” 1865.</p> - -<p>“An Historical Account of the Plantation in Ulster,” by the Rev. Geo. -Hill, 1877.</p> - -<p>“Calendar of the Carew Manuscripts at Lambeth Palace,” 1873.</p> - -<p>“Derriana: a History of the Siege, &c.” by the Rev. John Graham, 1823.</p> - -<p>“A True Account of the Siege, &c.” by the Rev. George Walker, 1689.</p> - -</div> - -<p>Had it not been for this George Walker and the heroic -prentice lads of Derry, the preservation of that city would -never have been secured. (See Lord Macaulay’s History.)</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="plate8"> -<img src="images/plate8.jpg" width="500" height="600" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Hearse-cloth, or Ironmongers’ Funeral Pall. 1515.</span></p> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">Plate III.</span></p> -<p class="caption">The Monstrance or Shrine at each end.</p> -<p class="caption">(<a href="#Page_55">See page 55.</a>)</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE IRONMONGERS’ CHARITIES AND CHARITABLE -IRONMONGERS.</span></h2> - -<p>Citizenship is the birthright of every man, but it is not -every man who is worthy of the name of citizen. What -makes the honourable distinction all the more valuable -is when “a citizen of no mean city,” and the true representative -of “a nation of shopkeepers,” so truly values his rights -and privileges as to be ever ready to come forward when -occasion requires to protect it from the ignorance and contamination -of those whose only design must be to overthrow -its virtues for the sake of personal gains. It was Lord -Chancellor Selborne who some years ago publicly declared -that his ancestors for four generations had been connected -with one of the City Guilds, and he had never been ashamed -of anything either of those ancestors had done, and never -regretted his own connection with the City or its Companies. -And another eminent man of earlier days most emphatically -declared, “I would rather be born of the basest and meanest -of mankind, and rise to fame and distinction by my own -exertions, than that, being born of noble ancestry and high -degree, I should bring disgrace on an exalted name, and -cross with a bar sinister the proud escutcheon of my father’s -house.”</p> - -<p>To the humble traders of old London their richer brethren -left their trusts, their charities, and their blessings. Their -estates had been obtained by hard work and hard-earned -money in a great many instances, and having been associated -with the zealous and careful men of their own Guilds they -left to them the carrying out of the designs expressed in -their wills. No one would have left to a Government -department such a trust then, and no one will do so now.</p> - -<p>The Government inspector, in his evidence before the -Companies Commission, declared that he considered William -Thwaytes’ bequest of 20,000<i>l.</i> “to make the Society comfortable”—and -that Society was the Clothworkers’ Company, to -which he belonged some half a century ago—really meant -“to make the traders comfortable”! Or that every clothworker -in the kingdom—shall we say the world?—ought to -participate. On the same principle, if a workman in a shop -left “to the workmen in the shop” 5<i>l.</i>, every shop in that -trade should have its share. Pray what would be the value -of the bequest?</p> - -<p>The City Companies, as we have shown in the history of -the Ironmongers, had a terribly uphill battle to fight with -early monarchy. Whenever there was a chance to rob the -citizens, down pounced the Government or Royalty. -Henry VIII. commenced by dissolving the religious houses, -and the good King Edward VI. seized the properties left to -the Companies by the wills of benefactors on the plea that -they were for superstitious uses. Having taken possession<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> -he was glad enough to sell the property back to them, so -that he made a very profitable business of the transaction. -The result of this “clever” and “sharp” practice was that -the Ironmongers had to sell their private property to buy -back the trust estate. Having done this, is it not creditable -to a City Company to be still administering that trust of which -the King himself had originally deprived them?</p> - -<p>Coming down to more modern times, Thomas Betton, -Hoxton Square, Shoreditch, left the Ironmongers’ Company, -in 1723, the residue of his estate for the purpose of redeeming -slaves in Barbary. Other notable citizens had done a -similar good deed before then, for so long previous as 1641 -Roger Abdy, merchant, had left 120<i>l.</i> “for or towards the -ransoming and redeeming of sixe poore English Protestant -captives out of the bondage and slavery of the Turks.” -Thomas Betton’s bequest was a noble one, for just about the -date of it all the world was suffering from the terrors of -slavery. Between 1734 and 1825 the Company appears to -have paid away in redemption money something like 21,000<i>l.</i>, -or as much as the whole estate had been originally worth, -but the Ironmongers, having been good trustees, had “improved” -the estate, and the result was that after Lord -Exmouth’s great victory, no more slaves being likely to be -redeemable, and there being a large balance at the bank, the -Company desired to utilise the surplus for the benefit of charity, -reserving a certain sum per annum for future redemptions -and contingencies. This was serious, so down came the -Government and popped the whole into Chancery. The -Company believed they were right, and did not want the interference; -but they had to fight against the Crown, and from -1829 to 1845 did the battle last. Several thousands of -pounds did Government law cost the charity, but that -the Company was right is evident, because the highest -tribunal, the House of Lords, decided that what the Company -had proposed so many years before should now be carried out—bequests -to the poor of the company and to every national -school in the kingdom.</p> - -<p>The Ironmongers’ charities are not so extensive as many of -the other City Guilds’, but they represent a variety of really -good and seasonable benefactions. Among these are two -almshouse foundations (Geffery and Lewen), scholarships to -schools and exhibitions to universities, a small free school in -Cornwall, the poor of the City wards, loans to poor young -freemen to help them on in life, bequests to hospitals, to -poor maids upon their marriage, to poor prisoners in debt, to -the poor freemen and their widows, to poor ministers and -clergy, to the national schools of the kingdom, &c. The -charity trusts amount to about 12,000<i>l.</i> a year, half of which, -being from rents, have of late years fluctuated. The Company -does not possess any ecclesiastical patronage, except -the appointment of a chaplain, who is also the minister to -the almshouse poor. There was a priest of the company 400 -years ago, but the present chaplain, the Rev. H. M. Baker, is -the fourteenth since 1715, when the first appointment to the -almshouses in the Kingsland Road was made.</p> - -<p>Through the changes of the times and the “compulsory” -sales by Act of Parliament for modern improvements, some -of the old property has changed hands and new property has -been purchased. This has been specially the case under the -Geffery and Betton trusts, and round about East and West -Ham and the Isle of Dogs. The Company now possesses -houses and premises in Old Street, St. Luke’s (Mitchell),<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> -Basinghall Street, Philpot Lane, and Fleet Street. It also -possesses the site of the famous New Park Street Chapel, -Southwark, where the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon first preached -when he came to London; also, farms in the counties of -Bucks, Essex, and Surrey. When in the good old times—so -says a newspaper in July, 1769—the Company went on -tour to view their Essex estate, they “held their annual feast -at the Devil’s House” (now Duval’s House), near East Ham, -a house of entertainment at that date. The sign of the -house is suggestive to the disciples of St. Dunstan. In recent -years two great districts have grown up in and around East and -West Ham—Beckton, which takes its name from the worthy -clerk of the Company (S. Adams Beck), who died in 1883, -and Silvertown, from a recent Master of the Ironmongers’ -Company (S. W. Silver), who has proved most energetic in -promoting the Company’s welfare. One word more about -the old estates. The great fire of London of 1666 burnt -down nearly all the City property of the Companies, and the -loss to the Ironmongers was serious. Fortunately, the Hall -was saved.</p> - -<p>Charitable Ironmongers, whether we view them as donors -of land, of houses, of plate, or other things, or for the time -they have given towards promoting the welfare of the Company, -have been in many ways worthy benefactors to the City -and the citizens. We have been curious in one inquiry—to -what extent the donations of some classes of plate have been -made, and we find that in the 400 years ending 1865 -“brother” Ironmongers have given twenty-nine silver gilt -cups and covers, many very large and valuable, seventeen -basins and ewers, and seven salts; besides many other -descriptions of plate, such as silver spoons, ornaments, -candlesticks, and the like. Of course, the Company does not -possess all the valuables now. Our former Monarchy, who -had the citizens’ welfare so much at heart, took good care (as -we have already shown) not to allow these valuables to -remain too long in the hands of “the City Fathers,” and so -to-day the Ironmongers have but a small collection of plate. -When the charitable Ironmongers left these cups for their -brethren “to make themselves comfortable,” whether at a -dinner or other feast, they never thought that their radically-inclined -descendants would object to the good old English -greeting: “The Master and Wardens drink to you in a loving -cup, and bid you all a hearty welcome.”</p> - -<p>Eminent Ironmongers, by their portraits, still adorn the -Ironmongers’ Hall. Thirteen are in the banqueting-room, -and eight in the court-room. Armorial shields round the -Hall give us the names of our worthy Masters from the -earliest times, while there are two statues of great interest, -Edward IV., the founder, and Lord Mayor Beckford—this -latter being in a niche on the grand staircase.</p> - -<p>Abstracts of most of the Ironmongers’ wills are in our -collection, and the series is most curious. We cannot do -justice to the subject now, but some time we hope to give -some interesting details. One, however, is worth quoting, -and that is of Alderman Richard Chamberlin, 1567. He was -a good benefactor, he remembered the poor, he gave the -Company 50<i>l.</i> “to helpe them oute of debte,” he left 10<i>l.</i> for -“a dynner at oure halle,” desiring the members’ wives should -be present, and he then put down on paper, “I praye God -make us merye in Heaven!”</p> - -<p>We will now, in alphabetical arrangement, give a few of -the names of those Ironmongers worth remembering. We<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> -do not profess to give a complete list, for such would form a -volume by itself, so numerous are they, and so many notes do -we possess about them.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Bate</span>, John, 1500, and Felys his wife, gave to the Company -a cup and other things, “ther with to do God and us worship, -and not to be solde while they will last.”</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Beckford</span>, William, Alderman, and Lord Mayor 1762 and -1770, when he died; was made free of the Company 1752, -was born in Jamaica, his father being Peter Beckford, -Speaker in the Assembly. The Lord Mayor made himself -famous by his celebrated speech to George III., as engraved -on the monument in Guildhall. Another statue, formerly at -Fonthill, was presented to the company by his son William -in 1833. See pedigrees and other details in Britton and -Rutter’s two descriptions of Fonthill, Wilts. Richard, -brother of the Lord Mayor, was also Alderman and M.P., but -he was a member of the Clothworkers’ Company.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Betton</span>, Thomas, a Turkey merchant, admitted to the -freedom by redemption 1696, lived in Hoxton Square; will -dated 1723. He died 1724; buried in the Ironmongers’ -Almshouse Grounds, Kingsland Road. Portrait presented -to the Company in 1728. Gave the residue of his estate for -the redemption of slaves in Barbary (as already noted).</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Blundell</span>, Peter, although not an Ironmonger, but from -a poor errand boy had grown to be a rich clothier, and one -of “the worthies of Devon” (Prince), and “a man very Godly -and Christianly disposed all his life time” (Stow), left -charities to the extent of about 40,000<i>l.</i>, including 150<i>l.</i> to -each of the twelve great Livery Companies of London. He -died 1601, aged eighty-one.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Bicknell</span>, Elhanan, of Herne Hill, Dulwich, a citizen -and Ironmonger, and great patron of the arts. He died -1861. His will was proved at 350,000<i>l.</i> His pictures sold at -Christie’s for 56,499<i>l.</i>; the sculpture, 2,145<i>l.</i>; drawings, -15,947<i>l.</i>; prints, 444<i>l.</i>; his houses and lands, 18,000<i>l.</i> He -had no fewer than ten Turners in his collection. He left -several charitable bequests.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Cambell.</span>—Several of this family have proved to be -eminent Ironmongers. Sir Thomas, Lord Mayor 1610, -Master 1604 and 1613; Sir James, Lord Mayor 1629, and -three times Master; Robert, a merchant, and Master 1631. -Sir James was the principal benefactor, leaving nearly -50,000<i>l.</i>, as may be seen in Strype’s “Stow.” He died 1641, -and his portrait is in the Hall.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Canning.</span>—Of this family William was Master 1617 and -1627, when he died. George (who died 1646) was for many -years the Company’s agent in Ireland, and was the ancestor -of the Prime Minister George Canning.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Carre</span>, John, 1571, his son in 1573, and Mrs. Carre in 1583, -left many bequests to the Company.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Chamberlin.</span>—This family was well represented on the -Company. There were Richard, George, and Robert. -Alderman Richard, Master 1560 and 1565, died November 19, -1566, and was buried in St. Olave, Old Jewry. His epitaph -stated:—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">To the poore he was liberall and gave for God’s sake,</div> -<div class="verse">But now his fame is plentifull and he a Heavenly make;</div> -<div class="verse">He was like one of vs, according to our mould,</div> -<div class="verse">But now he unlike vs in Heaven where he would;</div> -<div class="verse">His time was short in sicknesse rare as to all is knowne,</div> -<div class="verse">But now his time shall long endure and never be cast downe.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Clitherow.</span>—Alderman and Lord Mayor Sir Christopher; -Master 1618-1624; died 1642. He was son of Henry, three -times Master, who died 1607. See pedigree in the “History -of Hertfordshire.” A worthy benefactor.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Dane</span>, William, Alderman and Sheriff 1569, Master 1570-1573; -died November, 1579. Margaret, his widow, 1579, -was “a good woman.” She left many charities, including -the 12,000 faggots to the poor for firewood, which has been -made by the ignorant the more serious gift to burn them -with. Her portrait hangs in the Hall.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Denham</span>, Sir William, descended from the Dinhams of -Normandy. Sheriff 1534, Master 1531 to 1548. Died -August 4, 1548. By a curious error in the codicil to the will -the Company were compelled to purchase the properties -previously bequeathed to them, including that known as the -Old Jewry Chambers. His portrait hangs in the Hall. -Curiously enough, a branch of the Denham family were -copyholders of Hackney in the reign of James I., and -removed to Plumstead. Of later years another branch -resided in Hackney, and the wife of the present writer is a -descendant of that branch, descended from the Alderman -Denham, and from the Thomas Denham, a City Corporator -early this century, and a member of the Court of the Ironmongers’ -Company.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Downe</span>, Robert, in 1556, gave premises in St. Sepulchre; -also for dinners, obits and plate. The site “Ironmongers’ -Buildings” is now covered by the Holborn Valley Viaduct.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Draper</span>, Sir Christopher, Lord Mayor, 1566. Eight times -Master, the last time in 1581. A window formerly existing -at the Hall, with his portrait on it, was removed in 1845.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">East</span>, Robert, 1606, gave tapestry to the Hall, and 10<i>l.</i> for -“a drinckinge” at his burial.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">French</span>, George Russell, son of John French, Master 1823. -The son was chosen surveyor to the Company May, 1849. -He was a Shakespearean antiquary, and wrote many -interesting works, especially the compilation “Catalogue of -Antiquities” we have so often alluded to. He compiled a -very curious list of the Ironmongers’ Company, applying to -each a Shakespearean quotation. He died in October, 1881.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Geffery</span>, Sir Robert, Lord Mayor 1686, Master 1667 -and 1685. He died 1703, and was buried in St. Dionis, -Fenchurch Street, and when that church was pulled down -his remains were removed, July, 1878, to the Ironmongers’ -burial-ground, Kingsland Road. By will, after many charitable -bequests, he left the residue of his estate for the -purchase of land, and the erection (in 1714) of the present -chapel and fourteen almshouses. The old twenty-nine rules -for the government will be found in Strype’s “Stow.” At the -date of their erection the almshouses were in “the suburbs.”</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Grinsell</span>, Thomas, “Citizen and Ironmonger,” a well-known -parishioner of St. Dunstan’s-in-the-West, Fleet Street, -and famous for having been the Master of “the gentle angler,” -Izaak Walton, who became a member of the Company in -1618. The Grinsell family subsequently resided in Westminster. -About Thomas, see “Memorials of Temple Bar -and Fleet Street,” 1869, p. 80.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Gyva</span>, John, about 1515 gave to the Company the hearse-cloth -or funeral-pall. It is of crimson velvet and cloth-of-gold -tissue, ornamented with fruit and flowers for centre-piece. -In the centre of each sides the Blessed Virgin Mary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> -in glory crowned as Queen of Heaven, with figures of Saint -Elizabeth of Hungary, St. John Baptist, and St. John -Evangelist. Beyond the figures on each side the Company’s -arms, and at each end in cloth of gold a monstrance, representing -a silver-gilt shrine, jewelled, inscribed with the name -and date of John Gyva and Elizabeth, his wife. This pall -was long used for funerals. In 1532 it was only to be used -by members and their wives, but this exception was relaxed, -for in 1678 40<i>s.</i> was to be the fee for its use by strangers -generally. Elizabeth Gyva in 1534 gave the Company a -tenement, directing them to “remember” her in their -prayers for 100 years.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Hallwood</span>, Thomas, 1622, gave plate, exhibitions to -universities, &c. His portrait hangs in the Hall.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Hanbey</span>, Thomas, 1782, provided for the education of two -children in Christ’s Hospital, and Mary, his wife, 1796, left -the interest of 300<i>l.</i> to provide for the repairs of the tomb of -her husband in St. Luke’s Churchyard, Old Street, and -residue of the interest among the poor.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Handson</span>, Ralph, clerk to the Company, was a good -benefactor and kindly disposed, leaving in 1653 to the poor -members, to hospitals, and to the yeomanry for their half-yearly -repast, as already mentioned. His portrait hangs in -the Hall. He was cousin to Nicholas Leat.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Heylin</span>, Rowland, Sheriff 1624, Master 1614 and 1625, -died 1629. He gave 300<i>l.</i>, out of which a dinner and a -sermon were to be annually provided to commemorate the -Powder Plot deliverance, and loans made to poor young -freemen. His portrait is in the Hall.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Harvey</span>, Sir James, Alderman; Lord Mayor 1582; four -times Master. His son, Sir Sebastian, was Lord Mayor 1618, -Master 1600; wrote his name “Harvye.” Lady Harvey, -1620, gave 21<i>l.</i> for a dinner at the funeral of Sir Sebastian.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Hood</span>, Samuel, first Viscount, was presented with the -freedom 1783 in honour of his great victory. He died 1816. -His portrait by Gainsborough (presented by Lord Hood) -hangs in the Hall. We possess a characteristic letter written -by Lord Hood in 1811 with his left hand.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Humfreys</span>, Sir William, Bart., Lord Mayor 1714, Master -1705, and gave a silver cup and cover. He acted as chief -butler at the coronation of George I. Died 1735, buried at -St. Mildred’s, Poultry, and when that church was pulled -down (1875) the Company desired to give him a “proper” -reinterment at Ilford, but, although the character of the -coffin showed that the body inside was possibly his, all the -silver plates and handles and ornaments had been stolen -long before, and so Sir William could not be identified, and -the remains were taken with the others.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Lane</span>, Ralph, Turkey merchant, gave to the Company, in -1712, a silver-gilt cup, upon which is engraved a coat of -arms, with thirty-two quarterings. It is interesting to note -that John Lane, the elder, in 1457, was one of the Company -who advanced 10<i>l.</i> towards purchasing the Hall property. -His son John gave 40<i>s.</i></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Lawrence.</span>—A well-known and respected name in the -City. Several have been members of the Company. John -Lawrans, about 1500, gave “a grete maser which hath sent -Lawrans in the bottom.” It weighed over 60 oz. Another<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> -John Lawrence, in 1731, gave a tankard. We may here -mention that</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">St. Lawrence</span> is the patron saint of the company. The -old barge “head” represented the saint with the gridiron in -his hand. In the early churchwarden’s accounts of the parish -of St. Lawrence, Reading, are numerous curious entries -between 1520 and 1530, such as:—“For gildyng of Seynt -Lawrence gredyron, viij<i>d.</i>”; “to the peynters Wyff, dew for -gilding of Seynt Lawren, vj<i>s.</i> viij<i>d.</i>,” &c.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Leat</span>, Nicholas, Alderman, three times Master, died 1631, -captain of the trained bands. He was an authority in agriculture -(<i>see</i> Gerard’s “Herbal,” 1597, p. 246). The sons presented -his portrait now in the court-room.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Lewen</span>, Thomas, Alderman and Sheriff, Master 1535, died -1557, founded the almshouses in Bread Street, now in -St. Luke’s. A good benefactor. His portrait is in the Hall.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mitchell</span>, Thomas, died 1527, gave “a croft of garden -enclosed by ditches and wall” outside Cripplegate (now -St. Luke’s) of about 10 acres, which, with about an acre purchased -in 1595, comprises now 11½ acres, covered with some -360 houses. St. Luke’s Church was built and churchyard -formed on part of the ground. Portrait in Hall.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Morris</span>, Richard, was Master in the Armada year, 1588. -Many members of the family have been in the Company -between 1568 and 1718. He died 1592. His daughter -married first Sir William Cockayne (Lord Mayor, 1619), and, -secondly, Henry Carey, Earl of Dover. From both husbands -peerages descend. Samuel Morris, in 1680, gave an iron box, -with keys, to hold the Company’s seal.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Milne</span>, Sir David, K.C.B., admitted to the Freedom of -the Company with his superior officer, Lord Exmouth, -in 1817.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Newell</span>, Mrs. Ann, in 1544, gave a table and napkins—a -seasonable gift in those days. Her namesake, William -J. Newall, who died a liveryman of the Company in 1888, and -worth 257,000<i>l.</i>, seems to have forgotten in his will his poor -“brother-ironmongers”!</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Nicholl.</span>—This is an old family name on the company. -John Nicholl, of Canonbury, Master 1859, was a good friend -to the Company (and to the writer). He compiled a magnificent -account of the history of the Ironmongers, 1851 -and 1866, and the original MS. “Records,” in six volumes, -are in the Company’s library. He died February 7, 1871, -aged eighty-one, and his portrait appropriately hangs in the -court-room next to that of Mr. Beck. His son, Edward -Hadham Nicholl, Esq., is the senior warden of the Company -this year.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Pellatt.</span>—Many representatives of this Sussex family -have been in the Company, including Apsley Pellatt, M.P., -died 1863 (who gave a silver-mounted snuff-box), and -Thomas Pellatt, Clerk of the Company, died 1829. Apsley -Pellatt, of Lewes, grandfather of the M.P., was Master 1789.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Pellew</span>, Edward, created Viscount Exmouth, 1816. The -hero of Algiers and the terminator of slavery there. Presented -with the freedom of the Company, January 31, 1817, -and with a sword by the City. The original grant of the -Company’s freedom, signed by T. Pellatt, the clerk, is in the -possession of a member of the Company. Portrait by Sir -William Beechey hangs in the Hall.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Price.</span>—This family has had many representatives in the -Company. John Price was buried at Clapham 1739; his -wife 1760. Sir Charles Price, Bart., Lord Mayor 1803, was -Master 1798. In his mayoralty he gave the magnificent cut-glass -chandelier now hanging in the Hall. His portrait also -hangs there. Among other papers the writer has the original -Privy Seal for the grant of the baronetcy. Sir Charles died -1818. His son was Master 1819 and died 1847. He was -succeeded by Sir Charles Rugge Price, who had a splendid -collection of engravings, including a choice copy of Rembrandt’s -“Hundred Guilder Piece”—Christ Healing the Sick—which -at the sale in 1867 sold for 1,180<i>l.</i>, the highest sum -ever paid for a single engraving.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Shakespeare</span>, John, Alderman and Sheriff 1768, translated -to the Ironmongers’ from the Broderers’ 1767, -Master 1769. A large ropemaker at Shadwell. Buried at -Stepney, 1775. Gave silver candlesticks to the Company. -He was supposed to be descended from a branch of the -dramatist’s family.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Slade</span>, Felix, son of Robert, of Doctors’ Commons, and -Walcot Place, Lambeth; Master 1803. The son was a collector -of choice articles and a great benefactor to the -British Museum and the nation. He died March 29, 1868. -He founded the Slade Professorship.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Thompson</span>, William, Alderman, M.P. Lord Mayor 1828 -A wealthy ironfounder. Master 1829 and 1841; died 1854 -His only daughter married the Earl of Bective, now -Marquis of Headfort. Among his gifts were two large silver -candlesticks.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Thorold.</span>—Several members have been on the Company -and served offices of Master, &c.; also benefactors to the -poor. The family were of Harmeston Hall, county Lincoln, -which was sold in 1884 for 115,000<i>l.</i></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Walker</span>, Henry, made free in 1634, having served -apprentice to Robert Holland, was so extraordinary an individual -that John Taylor wrote and printed his “Life and -Progress of Henry Walker the Ironmonger,” 1642, and it is -now a very rare tract. Captain William Walker, Master -1684, gave in 1694 a large set of knives and forks, with -silver handles, for the Company’s future use.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Walton</span>, Izaak, “the gentle angler,” apprentice to Thomas -Grinsell, was, on November 18, 1618, “admitted and sworne -a free brother of this companie and payd for his admittance -xiij<i>d.</i> and for default of presentment and enrollment x<i>s.</i>”. -His portrait hangs in the Hall. He was warden of the -Yeomanry 1627, died December 15, 1683, and buried at -Winchester. A full account of him and his family will be -found in the “Memorials of Temple Bar and Fleet Street,” -1869, p. 82, and Pink’s and Wood’s “Clerkenwell,” p. 107. -The writer possesses a large amount of curious and original -matter relating to “good Izaak,” which he intends one day -to publish.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Westwood.</span>—Several have been members. While Robert -was Master, 1828, among the eighty-five liverymen were -Lord Exmouth, Sir David Milne, two baronets, and two -aldermen. Robert, Master in 1861, gave a silver-gilt cup -and cover. William Henry, in 1878 and 1882, proved himself -very kindly disposed to the Company’s poor.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Woodward</span>, Mistress Katherine, in the seventeenth -century, left 200<i>l.</i> for poor scholars, prisoners, hospitals, and -poor maids’ marriages.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Young</span>, Richard, 1675, gave a silver salt, a caudle cup and -cover, and was excused serving office of Master. John, in -1695, gave the Company six pictures.</p> - -<p>Such, then, are a few of the names of Ironmongers worthy -to be remembered. We have not exhausted, by a very long -way, our list, but we think the selection will prove that the -Ironmongers have had many good and true citizens in their -roll. Our wish is this: May they increase as years roll on, -and, as the toast is periodically given by the Master of the -Company, so do we echo it three times three—“The -Worshipful Company of Ironmongers, Root and Branch, and -may it Flourish for Ever!”</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The writer having so far completed the task he has set -himself, and briefly chronicled some of the most interesting -facts connected with his ancient Company, thinks it but -right to say that what he has now printed is only a small -portion of a larger history, which some time hence he -intends to produce for the benefit of the public at large, if -his life is spared to undertake the work. Having been -honoured by his brother freemen, as already stated in the -last chapter, he determined to prove he was not unmindful -of his duty, or the rights and privileges of his brethren, -whatever some persons may think to the contrary. He has, -therefore, ventured to print as succinct an account of their -history as it is possible to give in a small compass, and -Herbert’s “History,” and the “Some Account” of his old -friend John Nicholl being either out of print or too expensive, -probably the present will do as a temporary substitute -for the members until another is ready for publication.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">T. C. Noble</span>,<br /> -Warden of the Yeomanry, 1888-1889.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 325px;" id="plate9"> -<img src="images/plate9.jpg" width="325" height="700" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Devil gives St. Dunstan a Morning Call.</span></p> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">St. Dunstan compels the “Evil One” to Sign a Treaty of Peace.</span></p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="APPENDIX">APPENDIX.<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE BLACKSMITHS’ COMPANY.</span></h2> - -<p>The advance of technical education, the inauguration of -another trades exhibition promoted by a City Company, -and that Company the ancient Blacksmiths’ Guild, must be -our excuse for placing upon record some account of its -history from the earliest date known about it as a fraternity.</p> - -<p>Of the origin of Guilds we have already had occasion to -speak in our history of the Ironmongers. Mr. Nicholl, the -historian of that Company, gives us some interesting facts in -his notes, and we cannot do better than quote his preliminary -words:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>The art of working in metals was more highly esteemed than any other -by the Anglo-Saxons. Their best artisans were the clergy. Edgar -established a law that every priest, to increase knowledge, should -diligently learn some handicraft. Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, to -the arts of music, engraving, painting, and writing, added the craft of a -smith, and was an expert workman. Stigand and Ethelwold, both -bishops, were celebrated for their mechanical skill. The chief smith was -a man of considerable distinction in the courts of the Anglo-Saxon kings -and his privileges and weregild exceeded those of any other craftsman. -Towards the period of the Conquest the manufacture of iron had considerably -increased, and the art of working it was better understood. -Steel and iron armour were common. At the time of the Domesday -Survey the City of Hereford had six smiths, who paid each one penny for -his forge, and made 120 pieces of iron from the king’s ore, receiving in -return a customary payment of three pence, and being free from all other -service. The City of Gloucester paid to the king 36 dicras of iron and -100 ductile rods to make nails for the king’s ships. Iron had now become -the principal manufacture of Gloucestershire, and in the reign of -Edward I. there is stated to have been no less than 72 furnaces in the -Forest of Dean for smelting it. The largest establishments of the Romans -for the manufacture of iron in Britain were in this county, but the -method, whatever it may have been, which they employed was imperfect -and the cinders of their numerous forges, wherever they are discovered, -are found to contain a very considerable portion of unsmelted metal. -The first smelting-furnace, and that which in all probability was used by -the Romans for the manufacture of iron, is supposed to be the air-bloomery; -it is described as a low conical structure, with small openings -at the bottom for the admission of air and a large orifice at top for carrying<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> -off the gaseous products of combustion. It was filled with charcoal -and ore in alternate layers, and the fire applied to the lowest part. How -long this simple contrivance continued in use we have no means of -ascertaining, the period to which it belongs being so very remote; there is -no doubt, however, that the next era of improvement in the manufacture -of iron was the introduction of bellows, and the construction of the blast-bloomery, -which greatly facilitated the process of smelting, and, by allowing -the construction of larger furnaces, considerably increased the manufacture. -The blast-bloomery, in process of time and the constant -progression of the arts, was superseded by what is denominated the blast-furnace. -This last improvement is supposed to have been introduced -during the early part of the sixteenth century; for in the seventeenth -century the art of casting in metal had arrived at a great degree of perfection, -and in the reign of Elizabeth there was a considerable export trade -of cast-iron ordnance to the Continent.</p> - -</div> - -<p>As “by hammer and hand all arts do stand,” so was the -origin of the Blacksmiths’ Guild in the nineteenth year of the -reign of Edward III., 1325. Like many others it is a -fraternity by prescription, subsequently incorporated by -Royal Charter. “The Articles of the Blacksmiths,” dated -the 46th of Edward III., <span class="smcapuc">A.D.</span> 1372, are enrolled in Letter-book -G, fo. 285, preserved among the Guildhall records, and a -most interesting and concise translation will be found in -Mr. Riley’s “Memorials of London,” 1868, p. 361. The -Articles specially provide against the introduction into the -City of inferior foreign-made work, and the forging of trademarks -was, of course, a serious matter. “Every master in the -said trade shall put his own mark upon his work, such as -heads of lances, knives and axes, and other large work, that -people may know who made them in case default shall be -found in the same.” Forgers of such mark were dealt with -without delay, and it is interesting to know that one of the -earliest of the overseers appointed resided near Holborn -Bridge (now the Viaduct), close to the Charity Trust Estate -of the present Company. No one was to be made free of the -Guild unless he was skilled in his work as an apprentice -should be, so that we may be sure the early blacksmiths truly -represented their “art and mystery.”</p> - -<p>“The Ordinances of the Blacksmiths” are enrolled in the -Guildhall “Letter-book” H., fo. 292, and will be found -translated in Mr. Riley’s “Memorials,” p. 537. They are -dated the 18 Richard 2nd, 1394. No smith was to work -throughout the night, or to annoy his neighbours, and the -hours of work were to be from 6 o’clock in the morning to -8 o’clock in the evening in winter, and from the beginning of -daylight to 9 o’clock at night in summer. None to work in -his shop on a Saturday, or on the eve of a feast or holy day -after the first stroke of the vesper bell, under heavy fines and -penalties. Two wardens to be annually elected for their -government, and strict search to be made in the City and -suburbs for the detection of false wares. No one to make a -key for a lock unless he have the lock to make it by, and -nothing to be exposed for sale at any fair until the wardens -have certified it “good and lawful.”</p> - -<p>Forty years afterwards we find another enrolment, and -among records where such an entry would never be looked -for—the Register Book of the Commissary of London, -labelled “Liber 3 More, 1418-1438,” folio 455, now preserved -in the Probate Registry, Somerset House. We are indebted -to Mr. J. R. Daniel-Tyssen for the discovery in 1852, and to -Mr. H. C. Coote for editing and printing them in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> -“Transactions of the London and Middlesex Archæological -Society,” Vol. IV., pp. 32-35. They are entitled—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>Ordynances articulis, and constituciones ordeyned and grarnted by the -Worshypfull Maistres and Wardeynes in the Worship of the Bretherhed of -Saynt Loye, att the Fest of Ester, with alle the hole company of the crafte -of blaksmythes, who assemble in Seynt Thomas of Acres and thence to the -Grey Freres of London. Founded and ordeyned atte the Fest of Ester, -1434, 12 Henry VI.</p> - -</div> - -<p>These ordinances provide—that every servant (brother) -pay 2<i>d.</i> quarterly, and every sister 1<i>d.</i> Strangers “for -yncomyng,” pay 2<i>s.</i> A beadle of the Yeomanry to be -appointed who was to receive from every brother “for his -salari” one-halfpenny quarterly. “And whaune eny brother -other sisster be passed to God the seyd bedell to have for his -traveyle ij<i>d</i>.” Any member disobeying the orders “to be -corrected be the Oversseer,” and disobeying the second time -he “schalbe put oute of the crafte for evere.” New masters -were to be chosen at the feast of St. Loy. “If therbe eny -brother that telleth the Counseyle of the seyd Brethered to -his master prentis or to eny other man he shall paye to the -box ij<i>s.</i>” Any brother scandalising another to be fined 12<i>d.</i> -“Also at the quarter dai we will have baken conys as hit was -be gonne.” Any master breaking the rule to pay 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i> All -fines were halved—a moiety each to “the Mastres box,” and -the Yeomen’s box. After some other orders follow a list of -the fellowship members, sixty-seven in number, headed by -John Lamborn, who was then, or had been, “Master of the -Yomen.” Two of those signing the rules were the wives of -two of the brethren, Stephen Manne and William Mapull.</p> - -<p>Although the Blacksmiths’ Guild was not in existence -when St. Dunstan played his harp, and worked at his forge -and anvil, we cannot forbear saying something about a prelate -who has, more than any other, raised the reputation of -the “art and mystery,” which after 500 years still flourishes -within the boundaries of great London City, and at the time -we are writing this gives a splendid proof that it is not wanting -in will or way to attempt the improvement of the trade -by advocating and supporting technical education.</p> - -<p>Dunstan, to whose memory so many churches have been -dedicated, was born near Glastonbury, in county Somerset, -and educated at the Abbey. In subsequent years, when he -passed a retired life, he built himself a small cell, and enacted -there (if tradition holds its own) one of, if not the greatest -miracle upon record. He was a favourite with King -Athelstan, whom he much pleased by musical performances -on his harp, and many astounding tales have been handed -down to us about this instrument playing without being -touched, and rendering such musical and hitherto unknown -melody as enabled the humbler classes to be much imposed -upon. Dunstan died May 18, <span class="smcapuc">A.D.</span> 988, so that he has been -dead just 900 years. And yet to-day is still recorded that -marvellous meeting he once had with “the evil one,” or, as -we were told in our youth, the Devil. Many a time did this -tempter “try his hand” upon our musical blacksmith. He -appeared to him in every shape and form, even as a beautiful -female, and certainly to our mind the most likely “to -draw.” Poor Dunstan in his little cell at Glastonbury, whenever -at his devotional practice as harpist, or using his forge -and anvil as blacksmith, was certain to receive a visit, and -his sweet song drowned by the black visitor’s unholy jeers. -At last the day of reckoning came, Dunstan seized a golden<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> -opportunity when his tyrannical tormenter put in appearance -at the very time his forge was at work and his pincers hot. -Little was said, no doubt, but the doings were great—the -greatest ever recorded of man’s work—for</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">St. Dunstan, so the story goes,</div> -<div class="verse">Seized his sable Majesty by the nose,</div> -<div class="verse indent8">And made him loudly roar;</div> -<div class="verse">So loud, indeed, from North to South,</div> -<div class="verse">From East to West, like from thunder’s mouth</div> -<div class="verse indent8">It echoed a thousand miles and more.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>But the pulling of the evil one’s nose was but a part of the -transaction, for our blacksmith then and there pulled out his -parchment and made the enemy sign that famous declaration, -never in future to molest Holy Church or Holy men, -and keep aloof of all buildings in which hang the horseshoe. -It is not many years ago that in two streets in London this -emblem of protection or “luck” may have been seen—Dudley -Street, St. Giles’s, and Dean Street, Fetter Lane—the -latter place not a thousand miles, but only a few yards, -from where this account is printed. As for the hammer, -anvil and tongs of St. Dunstan, Mr. Lower in his notices of -the ironworks of Sussex, gives woodcuts of the three articles, -said to be “the famous originals, preserved at Mayfield in -that county, so noted for its iron. The anvil and tongs are -of no great antiquity, but the hammer with its iron handle -may be considered a mediæval relic.” A few years ago we -attended a sale of curiosities of more than the usual interest, -and which were the lifelong attention of Mr. Snoxall, -Charterhouse Square. One of the lots was the original anvil -and hammer of the “Harmonious Blacksmith,” from which -Handel composed his celebrated song, and we can endorse, -from a trial we made, the assertion of the MS. description -that Powell’s anvil produced B and E notes, as few anvils -have done, or are likely to do again.</p> - -<p>St. Dunstan is the patron saint of the Goldsmiths’ Company, -and he figures in their hall both in picture and in -statue. The legend was a favourite one in their Lord Mayor’s -Show, especially in that of 1687, when in the trade pageant -the prelate seated on a chair of State, having a golden mitre -on his head, a crozier in one hand and tongs in the other, -surrounded by forges and anvils and blacksmith at work, -taught the devil the oft-repeated lesson not to intrude on -forbidden ground. We might multiply evidences of the -popularity of the famous legend, but we have said enough, -and must proceed with our Company’s history.</p> - -<p>In the first year of the reign of Henry VII. (1485) both -the Blacksmiths’ and Spurriers’ guilds will be found in the -list given by Campbell, vol. i. p. 4; and a few years later, in -1502, standing in precedency the 36th Company, the Blacksmiths -had a livery of sixteen, and the Spurriers, standing -the 46th, had six. When Henry VIII. and Queen Katherine -“shall pass by towards their Coronation,” the same Companies -sent members to represent them, and in the eighth -year of that King’s reign, 1517, it was settled that in precedency -in the future the Blacksmiths should be the 41st -Company and the Spurriers the 46th. There were then -about sixty Companies in the City, but of these ten were not -in the “clothing,” that is to say, had a livery.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;" id="plate10"> -<img src="images/plate10.jpg" width="500" height="600" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">St. Dunstan gives a Practical Reminder of the Power of the -Horseshoe.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>It was by Charter, dated April 20, 1571, that the two Companies -were united under the usual conditions of a body corporate -and with the powers and privileges of making<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> -ordinances for the government of the Company. The Charter -was confirmed by James I. in his second year, March 21, -1604-5. Meanwhile the precepts poured into the Blacksmiths -as they did to other Companies, and in May, 1595, -out of 12,000 quarters of corn stored at the Bridgehouse in -the preceding November by the City Guilds, only some 779 -quarters remained, and ten of these belonged to this Company. -The Corn Custom, as described by Herbert, was a -heavy tax, and often so tyrannical was the system of levy -that some of the wardens were sent to prison in 1632 for -neglecting to obey orders.</p> - -<p>In 1609 King James I. submitted to the City of London -his scheme for the plantation of the forfeited lands of the -O’Neills and the O’Dohertys in the province of Ulster in the -North of Ireland; and the same King founded a new order -of Knighthood, purchasable by those desirous of helping to -maintain the authority of the King in future against the -rebels in Ireland. That order of Knighthood is the present -Baronetage, and in proof of its origin every person so titled -bears in his shield of arms the red hand of Ulster. The -citizens of London paid James I., from first to last, for their -Ulster estates more than 60,000<i>l.</i> The difficulty then arose -as to the management, and so, in 1613, the whole property -was partitioned off into twelve shares (according to the sum -subscribed by each of the twelve principal Guilds, who, -having raised 40,000<i>l.</i>, showed that each of the twelve had -paid 3,333<i>l.</i> 6<i>s.</i> 8<i>d.</i>). With the twelve principal companies -certain minor ones, having paid a certain sum, joined in the -scheme, and accordingly, the Blacksmiths, subscribing 64<i>l.</i> -with seven others, became associated with the Vintners, who -held possession until the year 1736, when they sold the whole -estate, reserving only a rent charge.</p> - -<p>There are many interesting documents extant relating to -the Blacksmiths and the Blacksmiths’ Company. We do -not lack the will to publish all the information we could give -about their progress, but for the greatest of all reasons—want -of room, our space being but limited—we must limit -our notes to a few of the most important events.</p> - -<p>In 1607 Thomas Bickford, Master of the Company, -prosecuted Nicholas Lowe for carrying on the trade of a -smith, he not being free of the City; and in March, 1612, -the curious controversy about Daubigny’s patent set all the -machinery of the Royal Commissioners and the City into -high-pressure activity. It appears that Clement Dawbney, -<i>alias</i> Daubigny, desired to have a renewal of his patent for -cutting iron into small rods, and that restraint should be -placed upon the importation of foreign iron so cut. His -petition to the Commissioners of Suits was backed by shipwrights, -masters, and nailmakers, who particularly condemned -foreign iron. The Commissioners, being unable to -decide, referred the matter to three of the City Companies, -the Ironmongers, Blacksmiths, and Carpenters. The record -books of the Ironmongers contain many interesting details of -the inquiry made by that company into the question in -dispute, and two of the most active members in the debate -were two of the Chamberlyn family—George (then Master, -in 1612) and Richard (who had been Master two years -previous). The Nailmakers reminded the Commissioners, -“as the fathers of the Commonwealth,” that a private patent -deprived the poor of their trade and labour; that one or two -enriched themselves at the cost of the many. “Wee allwaies -have in evrie C. weight eleven or twelve pounds of ends or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> -refuse iron and pay for that after 2<i>d.</i> the lb., whereof we -make againe ever hardly a halfpenny for everie pound.” -Also, “We affirme as workmen that especially it is that the -Flemmish iron is as good and servicable and worketh as well -as or owne English iron.” The result was a temporary benefit, -for the patent was called in; although Sir Francis Bacon, one -of the Commissioners, having made a special report subsequently, -in 1617, that the monopoly, or patent, would -benefit not only the Blacksmiths but the Nailmakers, and -was only opposed by Burrell, who had set up a similar ironworks -at Danbury, the King renewed the patent, December 11, -1618. The granting of similar monopolies caused no end -of bickerings and ill-feeling, and ruin was by no means -uncommon among those who neither had capital with which -to defend their rights, nor interest at Court to prevent that -“bribery and corruption” so common in the surroundings of -our seventeenth century monarchy. When, in the previous -reign, the Earl of Oxford had endeavoured to obtain one of -these patents of privilege against the Company of Pewterers, -“whereby he would have undone the pewterers, their wives -and families,” Queen Elizabeth acted with discretion—not -always a virtue with all-powerful royalty—for she actually -granted the Earl’s desired privilege to the company itself!</p> - -<p>We will now give a full copy of a petition which the -Blacksmiths sent to the Privy Council in December, 1631. -It is directed to “The Right Honᵇˡᵉ the Lords and others of -His Maᵗʸˢ most Honᵇˡᵉ Privy Counsell,” by “the Mʳ Wardens -and Assistants of the Society of Blacksmiths, London”:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="noindent">Humbly sheweth—</p> - -<p>That notwᵗʰstanding yoʳ petʳˢ great care and good endeavʳ by making -searches and orders, according to their oath and charter, whereby to -suppress disorders and abuses in deceitfull working and making of ironwork, -yet by the evill example and refractorie of some ill-affected persons -of their society, whose names are here under menconed, their authority and -orders are slighted and disgraced, and many who have been heretofore -obedient and conformable doe now by their meanes continue refractory -and disorderly, and yoʳ petʳˢ and their charters are so notoriously -scandalised and abused that of themselves they cannot reforme the same, -nor have they any hope of redresse therefore but by yoʳ honoʳˢ favor.</p> - -<p>They therefore most humbly beseeche yoʳ honoʳˢ to take their great -wrong and just grievance into yoʳ hoᵇˡᵉ considerations. And to be pleased -to send for the said disorderly and obstinate persons hereunder named -before you. And to take such order wᵗʰ them for their conformity and -obedience to the ordinances made and to be made for the good governmᵗ of -the said society and prevencon. of deceits & abuses as to yʳ grave and hoᵇˡᵉ -wisdome shall seem meete.</p> - -<p>And they shall ever praye for yoʳ honoʳˢ.</p> - -</div> - -<p>The names of the six disorderly Blacksmiths appear to -have been:—George Johnson, William Bickford, Hanns -Garrett, Leonard Berars, William Browne, and Henry Baily. -Whether their nonconformity and other troubles led the -Company to obtain a new charter we know not, but it is -quite clear they did obtain one of Charles I., in his fourteenth -year, and dated February 16, 1638-39. By this new grant all -persons carrying on the business or trade of a blacksmith or -spurrier within the City of London or suburbs four miles -round were incorporated as “the Keepers or Wardens and -Society of the Art or Mystery of Blacksmiths, London,” to -have four keepers or wardens and twenty-one assistants, and -to make by-laws and ordinances, to examine all spurs, ironwork -made, &c., within the City and four miles round, and to -hold lands to the extent of 30<i>l.</i> above the former charter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> -allowance of 30<i>l.</i> In accordance with this grant and power -the Company framed new orders (confirmed by the Judges), -dated in December, 1640, and one of these allowed the Company -to “call, nominate, choose, and admit into the -yeomanry of the said Society such and so many persons -being freemen of the said Society as they should think meet, -honest, and of ability to be called and admitted into the said -yeomanry.”</p> - -<p>This shows that the Company anciently comprised the -Livery, yeomanry, and freemen, and the clerk believes that -the freemen were the journeymen and the yeomanry the -master blacksmiths. Under the <i>Quo warranto</i> writ of -Charles II. the Company surrendered with the other Guilds, -but were reinstated to their rights and privileges by -James II. in the first year of his reign by a charter dated -March 18, 1684-85.</p> - -<p>The Act of Common Council of June 9, 1658, compelled -all persons carrying on the trade to be free of the Company. -Fifty years later the Company took special means to enforce -it; but, like many of the other rights and privileges of the -Guilds, through the altered conditions of trading the power -of the Company has not been exercised for many years. The -following entry from the books of the Founders’ Company, -as extracted by Mr. Williams and printed in his “Annals,” -is sufficiently interesting to merit a place in our present -notice of the Blacksmiths:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="noindent">1660, Sept. 3. Memorandum.</p> - -<p>That upon this day the mastʳ and wardens did visit all the ffounders -shopps in Bartholomew Lane and Lothebury—as well of them that were -free of the ffounders company as those of the coppersmiths, and found in -the shop of John Lucas one lock of brass fitted in wᵗʰ 20 oz. of lead and -one 4-lb. weight unsealed, unsized, and unmarked with the owner’s stamp, -which work was brought into the Hall.</p> - -</div> - -<p>Founders’ Hall stood in Lothbury (hence the name -of Founders’ Hall Court), and was let to the Electric -Telegraph Company in 1853. The Founders of Bartholomew -Lane and Lothbury have long since departed to other -quarters of the City, and the sites of their ancient trading -are now occupied by the great monetary fraternities, the -Bank of England and other banks, and the Capel Court of -the Stock Exchange.</p> - -<p>In May, 1750, the Committee of the Corporation of London -specially reported on several petitions presented by masters -and journeymen freemen, and it was resolved that the -matters complained of required some regulation; that the -Court of Aldermen any Tuesday may have the power to grant -to any master freeman liberty to employ non-freemen, but -under certain restrictions; and that all proceedings and -prosecutions rest in the name of the Chamberlain, who, -however, only represents the City, and does not obtain any -personal benefit under such action.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;" id="plate11"> -<img src="images/plate11.jpg" width="400" height="700" alt="" /> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The “Evil One” on his Rounds sees the Effect of the Treaty.</span></p> -<p class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Horseshoe puts to Flight the Devil, and Pursues the “Evil One” -and all his Evil Companions.</span></p> -</div> - -<p>According to the returns made to the Royal Commissioners, -the Blacksmiths’ Company now comprises four -keepers or wardens, twenty-one assistants, the Livery, and -the yeomanry. The freedom of the Company is obtainable -by servitude (as an apprentice), by patrimony, and by -redemption. Formerly a quarterage of 4<i>s.</i> per annum was -collected, but this caused much trouble in the collection. -Females were formerly admitted, but none during the last -twenty years. For thirty years previous to 1833 the admissions -or calls to the Livery were often one or two only a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> -year, the highest years being 1805, 1810, and 1818, when -ten, eleven, and ten respectively were admitted. During the -same period the freemen numbered from six to twenty a -year; in 1813 and 1818 the actual admittances were twenty-one. -In 1834 about three-fifths of the Livery were, or had -been, smiths, and of the whole Company nearly one-half were -of the trade.</p> - -<p>There is one advantage in this Company—the calls to the -Livery go by rotation from the lists of the yeomanry, and -according to seniority. In 1882 there were eighty-three -freemen and eighty-one liverymen. As deaths take place -a fresh “call” is made, although in the nine years ending -1879 only thirty-two were admitted freemen. Another -difficulty has arisen as regards apprentices; only three were -admitted in the past ten years. Persons, even freemen, have -been led astray by the “know-nothings” of society, and -have simply been persuaded to believe that the City apprenticeship -is now of no value. We know different; and -hence we heartily applaud the endeavours of the Company -of Blacksmiths and their energetic clerk, Mr. W. B. Garrett, -in holding the exhibition in 1889 in the Ironmongers’ Hall, -and promoting technical education among the rising generation -of the trade, art, or mystery. The Corporation of -London also proposes to make the “indenture” more conformable -to the times, and this, too, is a step in the right -direction.</p> - -<p>The Blacksmiths’ Company now holds its meetings at Guildhall. -Formerly they met in the Blacksmiths’ Hall standing -on Lambeth Hill, Doctors’ Commons, which in Hughson’s -time (1806) was “a much neglected structure,” and yet “a -good brick building with very convenient and stately apartments.” -This building formed part of the City lands of the -Corporation of London, and by indenture dated in February, -1746, was granted on a forty years’ lease by the City to “the -Wardens, Keepers, and Society of the Mystery or Art of the -Blacksmiths.” It is described as situate in the parish of -St. Mary Magdalene, Old Fish Street, having a frontage to -Lambeth Hill of 76 feet 6 inches, and then used by the -Company as their hall, &c. When the lease expired, the -Blacksmiths held their meetings, as we have said, at Guildhall, -and do so still.</p> - -<p>The return made to the Commissioners of 1880 states, -“The Company is not possessed of plate, pictures or furniture,” -but a loving cup, in private hands, of silver, was -presented to the Company by Christopher Pym, upon his -admission as clerk in 1665. The front of the stem that -supports the bowl is occupied by a figure of Vulcan as a -smith at his anvil, on which is engraved the motto of the -Company, “By Hammer and Hand all Arts doe Stand.” On -the outside of the bowl are also engraved the Company’s -arms, which were confirmed by Sir William Segar, Garter, -June 24, 1610.</p> - -<p><i>Arms</i>: Sa. a chev. or. between 3 hammers ar. handled of -the second, ducally crowned of the last.</p> - -<p><i>Crest</i>: On a wreath a mount vert; thereon a phœnix with -wings indorsed proper, firing herself with the sunbeams of -the last.</p> - -<p>The motto of the Company in ancient times was: “As God -will so be it.”</p> - -<p>The Blacksmiths’ is not a rich corporation, and the only -charity it possesses is that founded by Edward Prestyn in -June 1557. He left five houses in Fleet Lane and Old Bailey,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> -charged with the simple trust for the bestowal of 4<i>s.</i> per -annum among “the poor artists” of the Company. As a -proof that the Company carry out the trust in accordance -with the spirit which prompts right-minded citizens, the -Blacksmiths receive a rental from these premises of 136<i>l.</i> a -year, and yet pay away in charity 12<i>l.</i> per annum each to -twelve poor persons of the Company, being 8<i>l.</i> more than -the amount received! This would appear to be a mystery -were it not explained that the Company privately purchased -some other small properties, the rents from which -help to keep themselves in existence, and enable them to -augment the pensions of their poorer brethren.</p> - -<p>We cannot omit to say a word or two about another -society which bears the arms and the motto of the London -Guilds, but is known as the Smiths’ Company of Newcastle-on-Tyne. -Like the Blacksmiths, the Smiths are an ancient -fraternity, for its earliest ordinance is dated 1436, and among -the peculiar enactments was that no Scotchman should be -taken as an apprentice, or allowed to work for a member -under a penalty of 40<i>s.</i>—a large sum in those days. In -1664 the branches of the trade represented on the Company -were numerous, and in 1677 they were incorporated, -having four wardens (one to be an anchor-smith), and -twelve assistants, four of each to represent anchor-smiths, -locksmiths, and farriers’-blacksmiths. Their hall adjoined -the Blackfriars in Newcastle; the ground-floor room, a -chapel, was the room in which homage was done by -the Scottish King to the King of England. In 1824 there -were seventy-seven members belonging to this Smiths’ -Company.</p> - -<p>There have been many noteworthy members of the -Blacksmiths’ Guilds, although the custom of the City in -olden time compelled the chief Magistrate to be “one of the -twelve.” Consequently the names of those citizens in this -Company who have served the offices of Lord Mayor and -sheriffs have been limited, and so far as we can learn the -earliest only dates back to the end of the last century, when -Thomas Baker, exactly a century ago—in 1789—was one of -“the eyes of the Mayor” (as Stow quaintly describes the -sheriffs), serving in the mayoralty of the celebrated William -Pickett, who originated the grand improvement without -Temple Bar, a full account of which will be found in the -“Memorials” of that edifice published in 1869. The late -Alderman James Abbiss was a Blacksmith, and one of the -sheriffs in 1859, and in turn would have served as Lord -Mayor had not illness compelled him to resign his gown.</p> - -<p>We have numerous interesting references to the wills and -other evidences of the Blacksmiths of old London, but want -of space prevents even a summary. Two only, and these a -century apart, are sufficiently curious to mention. William -Reason, in 1568, left his livery-gowns to his brother and -cousin, and to his apprentice William one of the vices in his -shop and half of his files and tools. Industrious apprentices -were thought of by their masters in those days. “And -furder,” continues Mr. Reason, “I bequeathe to the Company -of Blackesmythes being of the lyvery that shall attende -upon my bodye to the buriall for a repaste or drincking to -be had and bestowed amongst them twentie shillings.” The -citizens of old London never expected their brethren to -work for nothing, and funerals with the City Companies, -especially with those who possessed halls, were of daily -occurrence, as a reference to the “Diary of Henry Machyn,”<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> -1550-1563, printed by the Camden Society in 1848, will amply -prove. In 1674 William Rawlings, who requested to be -buried in St. Stephen’s Church, Coleman Street, and possessed -much property about London, was a benefactor to the poor -of Bromley and Bow, Middlesex. Joseph Thornhill, also a -Blacksmith, who was buried at Hampstead, left by will in -1718 all his property adjacent to the well-known “Pindar of -Wakefield,” St. Pancras, and in which house he some time -dwelt, in trust for the benefit of his two daughters. An -account of this celebrated tavern and tea-gardens will be -found at page 58 of Pinks and Wood’s “History of Clerkenwell.”</p> - -<p>Finally, we can but echo the sentiments expressed in the -return to the Royal Commissioners in 1880:—“The objects -of the establishment of the Blacksmiths’ Guild were (1) the -promotion of good fellowship; (2) the protection and -encouragement of the trade the name of which is borne by -the Company;” and that the present Company “do all that -is in their power” to attain the objects of such foundation -whenever opportunity presents itself. The opportunity has -been given them in <span class="smcapuc">A.D.</span> 1889 to promote technical education -by holding an exhibition at Ironmongers’ Hall, and, as it is -their first effort, so do we sincerely hope it is the forerunner -of many successful ones in the future.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="THE_EXHIBITION">THE EXHIBITION.</h2> - -<p class="center">(<i>Reprinted from <span class="smcap">The Ironmonger</span>, March 30, 1889.</i>)</p> - -<p>The exhibition of articles specially applicable to the -blacksmith’s art has been held this week in the Ironmongers’ -Hall, Fenchurch Street. When a month ago -(February 23) we called attention to the competition that -had been opened by the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths, -we expressed a hope that, although it was their first effort, it -might prove a successful one; and it is a pleasure to us to -be able to chronicle that a most valuable and interesting -proof has been given that on English soil there are still to -be found journeymen and industrious apprentices who -can turn out “by hammer and hand” some very creditable -work.</p> - -<p>Like most of the first exhibitions that have been held for -the promotion of technical education, the Blacksmiths’ has -not been an extensive one. Only twenty-eight exhibitors -sent in specimens, and only two dozen of these were competitors. -But, if the quantity was small, the quality was -good, and, we must say, far exceeded our expectations. Each -exhibit was limited in weight to 20 lbs., so that the entire -collection was easily arranged upon tables, &c., in the court-room -of the Ironmongers’ Company, who had willingly lent -their brother-blacksmiths a most interesting apartment, -which effectively added to the exhibition.</p> - -<p>The exhibits comprised works by apprentices or youths, -and works by journeymen—in the former three sections, and -two prizes offered in each; in the latter three prizes. The -apprentices or youths were in the respective sections not to -exceed seventeen, nineteen, or twenty-one years of age, -“the work to be pure hammer-work of his own production -of any article of ornament or utility.” The journeymen’s -work was to be specially “table ornamentation or panel,” -the three prizes being 10<i>l.</i>, 7<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i>, and 5<i>l.</i>, both apprentices -and journeymen to have a certificate of merit in addition. -The majority of the exhibitors were of the metropolis, but in -a few instances the North, even as far off as Midlothian, sent -competitors.</p> - -<p>The judges met at Ironmongers’ Hall on Tuesday last to -inspect the exhibits, and were in several instances sorely -tried, for most of the work sent in was, as we stated, very -creditable. The Blacksmiths called to their aid skilled -practical craftsmen outside their own body, so that the -decisions arrived at must be considered eminently satisfactory. -The general public viewed the exhibits on Wednesday -and Thursday, and on Friday (yesterday) afternoon the -prizes were awarded to the successful competitors in the fine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> -Hall of the Ironmongers in the presence of a numerous -company. The following were the successful recipients:—</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Apprentices and Youths.</span></p> - -<p class="hanging">1.—A. Harvey, 33 Marsham Street, Westminster, gas-bracket. First -prize, first section, 3<i>l.</i></p> - -<p class="hanging">2.—Arthur Beaver, 4 Victoria Terrace, Kilburn, electric table-lamp. -Second prize, first section, 2<i>l.</i></p> - -<p class="hanging">3.—J. B. Imison, 31 Rowena Crescent, Battersea, suspending-lamps. -First prize, second section, 4<i>l.</i> and medal.</p> - -<p class="hanging">4.—C. Baker, 17 South Wharf Road, Paddington, three-candle bracket. -Second prize, second section, 3<i>l.</i></p> - -<p class="hanging">5.—A. W. Elwood, 9 Kennington Park Gardens, two panels, 40 × 10½. -First prize, third section, 5<i>l.</i></p> - -<p class="hanging">6.—F. Burkitt, 4 Great Suffolk Street, Southwark, three-candle stand. -Second prize, third section, 4<i>l.</i> and medal.</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Journeymen.</span></p> - -<p class="hanging">1.—G. Snailum, 66 Clarendon Road, Hornsey, panel, 36 × 13½. First -prize, 10<i>l.</i></p> - -<p class="hanging">2.—H. Ross, 13 Melton Street, N.W., bracket and oil-lamp. Second -prize, 7<i>l.</i> 10<i>s.</i></p> - -<p class="hanging">3.—T. R. Kendall, 11 Haymerle Road, Peckham, suspending-lamp -holder, third prize, 5<i>l.</i></p> - -</div> - -<p>In the preface to their list of exhibits the Company -(through their energetic clerk, Mr. W. B. Garrett) appeal to -exhibitors:</p> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p>The Blacksmiths’ Company initiate this exhibition in the hope that -British workmen will once more come to the front, and show that they can -make as good and as elegant articles, both for use and ornament, as can -the foreign artisan. Many persons who visited the Italian Exhibition last -year saw what that country could produce, and must have been struck by -the number of articles in ornamental ironwork sold, and, in many -instances, in which copies were ordered. Why does not the English workman -endeavour to follow—shall I not say lead?—in such work, and so retain -in this country a growing and profitable industry?</p> - -</div> - -<p>We can endorse this appeal, and hope that the first exhibition -may be but the forerunner of many others, each to be -more successful than its predecessor.</p> - -<p>The Blacksmiths expressed their best thanks to the Ironmongers -for so kindly lending their hall, as also to Sir P. C. -Owen and his staff at the South Kensington Museum for -sending on loan a most interesting and valuable collection of -ancient ironwork, chiefly of the fifteenth, sixteenth, and -seventeenth century. Among the articles exhibited were:—</p> - -<ul> -<li>Keys of various countries.</li> -<li>Fire-dog (Venetian), sixteenth century.</li> -<li>Prow of a gondola, fifteenth century.</li> -<li>Knocker (Italian), fifteenth century.</li> -<li>Knocker (German), about 1600.</li> -<li>Candlesticks and snuffer-stands.</li> -<li>Locks, various dates.</li> -</ul> - -<p>One of the wardens of the Blacksmiths’ Company, Mr. J. F. -Clarke, sent for exhibition several interesting articles, including -a large representation of the armorial shield of the -Company, whose motto is: “By Hammer and Hand all Arts -do Stand.”</p> - -<p class="titlepage smaller">SPOTTISWOODE & CO., PRINTERS, NEW STREET SQUARE, LONDON, E.C.</p> - -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF IRONMONGERS***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 60091-h.htm or 60091-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/0/0/9/60091">http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/0/9/60091</a></p> -<p> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed.</p> - -<p>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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