Chapter 18

The Spectacle-makers' Company has no great history, though their first charter dates back to the time of Charles I. Its membership is large, including many illustrious names, and no less than twenty lord mayors. It does much good in modern times by improving the skill of opticians. The Stationers have a noteworthy history, which has been graphically told by Mr. C. R. Rivington, and celebrated their five-hundredth birthday four years ago. For an account of their powers, privileges, and the story of their copyright register, I must refer the curious reader to Mr. Rivington's book, or to my larger history of _The City Companies of London and their Good Works_.

The Tallow Chandlers can boast of great antiquity, and possess several charters and documents of much interest, and also the Tin-plate Workers, _alias_ Wire Workers' Company. The Tylers and Bricklayers formed a fraternity in 1356, and have received charters from Queen Elizabeth and subsequent monarchs, which contain no remarkable provisions. The Turners or "Wood-potters" showed their skill in mediæval times in the manufacture of household furniture, and their fellowship was recognised in 1310. They received a charter from James I., and in modern times have shown much activity, and have enrolled many distinguished men in their rank of Freemen. The Upholder is really an upholster, or upholsterer, who now supplies furniture, beds, and such-like goods. His company was founded in 1460, and received a grant of arms from Edward IV. Cornhill was the original home of the upholder, or fripperer, as he was sometimes called, and he used to deal in old clothes, old beds, old armour, old combs, and his shop must have been a combination of old curiosity shop and a store-dealer's warehouse. Later on, he concentrated his attention on furniture; his status improved, and his guild became an important association, though never very wealthy or remarkable.

The Wax Chandlers lived in palmy days, when they furnished the great halls of the nobles with the produce of their skill, and innumerable lights burned before every altar in our churches. Their guild existed in 1371, and was qualified to make "torches, cierges, prikits, great candles, or any other manner of wax chandlery." They still possess a hall in Gresham Street and Gutter Lane. The Weavers claim to possess the oldest company of all the city guilds. It certainly existed in the time of Henry I., and they have a charter of Henry II. which is signed by St. Thomas of Canterbury, and no less than eleven others. In the palmy days of the cloth industry they were very prosperous, but unfortunately few records of their former greatness remain. The Wheelwrights' Company suggests the fascinating study of the introduction of coaches and cars, upon which we cannot now embark, nor listen to the wails of the Thames watermen, who complained against new-fangled ways. This guild received a charter from Charles II., and did good service in protecting the lives of his Majesty's subjects from "the falling of carts and coaches through the ignorance and ill-work" of foreign craftsmen. Last, but not least, on the list stands the Woolmen's Company, founded in 1300, when the trade in wool was at its zenith. It has borne several names, and was identical with the guild of the wool-packers or wool-winders. Wool-combers were also licensed by the company. A noted member of this ancient fraternity was Sir John Crosby, the founder of Crosby Hall, "Grocer and Woolman," alderman of the city in the reign of Edward IV., whose noble house London has at length declined to spare.

THE VICISSITUDES OF THE COMPANIES

From this brief record of the City Companies, and of the part each one played in the drama of the life of London, it will be gathered that most of these guilds showed strong and vigorous growth in the fifteenth century, and were thoroughly established. Then came the period of the Reformation, which proved a time of storm and stress to the companies. They held much property bequeathed to them for the endowment of chantries, for the celebration of masses for the dead, and for other purposes which were deemed to be connected with "superstition." The companies were rich. Greed and spoliation were rampant, and many powerful courtiers were eager enough to prove "superstitious uses" as an excuse for confiscation. Hence a very large amount of the property of the companies, as well as of plate and other valuables, was seized by these robbers, and the guilds were compelled to redeem their lands and wealth by paying down hard cash to the plunderers. It was a grievous time, but the companies weathered the storm, and regained by much sacrifice their possessions. The system of forced loans instituted by the Tudor and Stuart monarchs also pressed hard upon the companies. Henry VIII. required of them £21,000--an enormous sum in those days--for his war with Scotland. Philip and Mary demanded £100,000 for the war with France. The Mercers alone supplied Queen Elizabeth with £4,000 after the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Before the Petition of Rights put an end to these forced loans, Charles I. extracted a loan of £120,000 from the city, and the Civil War made further demands on the funds of the companies, both contending parties pressing them for money. It need not be added that little of this enormous wealth was ever returned to the guilds, and they were much impoverished. Many of them were compelled to sell their plate and other valuables, and some were almost reduced to the verge of bankruptcy.

Another drain upon the resources of the companies was the scheme of James I. to establish the Ulster Plantation upon land forfeited to the Crown through a recent rebellion there. The King offered the land to the City Companies for a colony, pointing out the very great advantages which the land afforded. These were painted in very glowing colours, but scarcely answered the expectations of the colonists. The active citizens of London at once formed the Irish Society, raised £60,000 for the purchase of the land from the sagacious King, and each company took an equal share. The old county of Derry was the chief scene of this enterprise, and in token of its new masters was rechristened London-Derry. The colony had scarcely been established when Charles I., with his strange arbitrariness, removed the grant, but it was restored by Charles II., and most of the estates still belong to the energetic companies, and have been made the most prosperous part of the "distressed island."

But the greatest of all the misfortunes which have befallen the companies was the Great Fire. Hall after hall, replete with costly treasures bequeathed by departed brethren of the guilds, with all their archives and documents, perished in that hideous holocaust. All the wealth that rapacious kings and the troubles of the Civil War had spared was engulfed in that awful catastrophe. Again and again, when we try to read the history of a company, we meet with the distressing intelligence that all its records were destroyed in the Great Fire. Very few escaped. The leather-sellers, pinners, and ironmongers were happily without the range of the conflagration. All the books of the companies abound with graphic details of this calamity. It melted their plate, burned their records, and laid their property, from which they chiefly derived their incomes, in ashes. At the same time they were burdened with a load of debt, the consequence of the compulsory loans to which I have referred, and saw no means left of paying. The clouds that hung over the companies were as black as the clouds of smoke that issued from the burning ruins of their halls. But their English hearts were not daunted, and bravely did they struggle with their adversities. They immediately set to work to do what they could to save the relics of their fortunes. They first took steps to secure their melted plate from the ruined buildings. Then they set about the rebuilding of their properties. Extraordinary exertions were made. The wealthier members subscribed vast sums of money. The houses of their tenants rose like magic from the ruins, and it is remarkable that in no more than two or three years' time most of the halls of the companies were rebuilt, and many shone forth with additional splendour. The reign of Charles II. did not, however, conclude without involving the companies in additional anxiety, occasioned by the King's arbitrary interference in their affairs by his _quo warranto_ proceedings. He presumed to call into question the validity of the charter of the city of London, and declared it to be forfeited; and not only that, but also the charters of all the corporations in England, including those of the City Companies. The whole business, when regarded in the light of history, appears farcical and absurd, but the danger to the life of the corporations appeared very real and tremendous to the good citizens of London in the year 1684. They behaved in a most loyal and submissive manner, surrendered their charters, expressed their fear that they had offended their sovereign, who, "in his princely wisdom," had issued a _quo warranto_ against them, and earnestly begged to have their charters renewed. The King granted them new charters, which rivetted strong fetters about the guilds, placed them, bound hand and foot, at the mercy of the King, and reduced the city to entire subservience. James II. showed no inclination to release the city and the companies from their bonds, until the news of the advent of the Prince of Orange forced him to make an act of restitution; the old charters were restored, and the proceedings _quo warranto_ were hastily quashed. One of the first acts of William and Mary was to renew the old charters and declare that all the acts of the Stuart monarchs, with regard to the suppression of these ancient documents and the granting of new ones, were entirely null and void. This action endeared the new sovereign to the citizens, and, doubtless, helped greatly to secure for him the English throne and the loyalty of his people.

Public confidence being restored, the affairs of the companies began to improve. Though still hampered by the loss of much wealth, and by the misfortunes through which they had passed, their members were wealthy, and gifts and bequests were not lacking. It is true that their connection with the trades which they were supposed to govern was fast dying out--indeed, many of their trades had for a long time become obsolete--but the corporations still cared for their poor members, managed their estates, promoted in some measure the trades with which they were associated, and took their part in the government of the affairs of the city. The value of their city property increased enormously, and raised them from poverty to affluence. This has enabled them to institute vast schemes of charity and munificence, which enormously benefits the whole country, and to maintain, preserve, and develop those magnificent educational and charitable establishments which pious benefactors have committed to their care. In my book on _The City Companies of London and their Good Works_ I have told at some length their interesting story, and given a full account of their charities and treasures, and how by wise schemes they have adapted old bequests to modern needs, and how they maintain the hospitable traditions of the city of London. But that story relates not to Old London, and need not be told again.

THE HALLS OF THE COMPANIES

Time and space will only allow a very brief inspection of a few of these interesting buildings, the homes of the companies, which are, without doubt, the most interesting features of the city of London.[154] In Cheapside is Mercers' Hall, a fine building, erected after the Great Fire. The usual entrance is in Ironmonger Lane. If you would try to realize the former hall and the hospital of St. Thomas and its noble church, you must read Sir John Watney's work, if you are fortunate enough to obtain a copy of that admirable privately printed quarto volume. In the present hall you will see (if permitted) a fine store of plate, four pieces of which escaped the Great Fire, including a curious waggon and tun, the gift of W. Baude in 1573, which moves along the table by clockwork. The entrance colonnade, which occupies the site of the ancient cloister, with its Doric columns, is attractive, and a fine stone staircase protected by a wooden portcullis leads to the hall and court rooms. The hall itself is a noble chamber, panelled by Rowland Wynne after the Great Fire, and hung with banners and paintings. The most interesting paintings are: an original portrait of Sir Thomas Gresham by Holbein; Dean Colet; and a fancy portrait of Sir Richard Whittington with his famous cat.

Grocers' Hall has been recently rebuilt, and Drapers' Hall is modern, situated around a lovely court and garden, where a quiet stillness reigns in refreshing contrast to the noise of the bustling throng of busy stockbrokers in the adjoining street. Two fine pieces of statuary, splendid specimens of Gobelins tapestry, much interesting plate, and fine portraits of kings and queens and other worthies, are among their treasures. The present hall of the Fishmongers was built in 1831, when the new London Bridge, of which Mr. Tavenor-Perry, a member of this company, tells in this volume, was erected. They have many treasures, including the Walworth Pall, said to have been worked previously to 1381, and to have been used at Walworth's funeral, though it is evidently the work of the sixteenth century. Numerous royal and other portraits adorn the walls, paintings of fish by Arnold von Hacken, Scott's pictures of old London and Westminster Bridges, and a large representation of a pageant of ancient days, affording some idea of one of London's scenes of old civic state.

Goldsmiths' Hall, built in 1835, is perhaps the most imposing of all the homes of the companies, and is rich in plate, sculptures, pictures, and other works of art. A magnificent marble staircase leads from the ground floor, monolith pillars support the roof, and a bust of the founder of the company, Edward III., faces the entrance. Two fine sculptures by Storey, the Libyan Sibyl and Cleopatra, adorn the vestibule. The oak panelling of the court room was taken from the old hall. This room contains a painting of St. Dunstan, the patron saint of the company, some portraits of worthies, a silver vase and shield by Vechte, and a small Roman altar, discovered when the foundations of the hall were being laid. This altar is mentioned in the Ingoldsby Legend of the "Lay of St. Dunstan." The plate of this company is remarkably fine.

In Threadneedle Street is the hall of the Merchant Taylors, the name of that thoroughfare being doubtless derived from their trade. This hall is one of the most interesting of all the palaces of the companies, inasmuch as the Great Fire did not completely destroy the old building, and was stayed on the premises; hence the present hall is a restoration of the ancient building, and not an entirely modern erection. There is an ancient vaulted crypt, the use of which is not quite clear. It may have been a passage leading from the street to the chapel. In the fourteenth century Edmund Crepin granted the hall to John de Gakeslee, the King's pavilion maker, who purchased it on behalf of the company. The property was enlarged by the gift of the Oteswich family, who gave to the company the advowson of the church of St. Martin Outwich (or Oteswich), and certain shops for the benefit of the poor brethren and sisters. The company built their almshouses on the west end of the parish church, and attached to them a new hall, the interior of which was adorned with costly tapestry representing the history of St. John the Baptist, and a silver image of the saint adorned the screen. Heraldic arms appeared in the windows, the floor was strewn with rushes, and silk banners hung from the ceiling. A garden with alleys and a terrace was at the rear of the hall, and in it stood the treasury, in which plate and other valuables were stored; and there was a building called the King's Chamber set apart and well furnished for the reception of Royal guests, who frequently honoured the company with their presence. This chamber, called the banqueting hall, was rebuilt in 1593, and a few years later the space above the ceiling was deemed the most convenient place for the storage of gunpowder. The great hall was restored in 1671, and is "old-fashioned, ample, and sumptuous," having all the characteristics of the fifteenth-century edifice. It is impossible to describe all the treasures of the company, but we must mention the two hearse-cloths of Italian fabric of early sixteenth-century work, some valuable portraits of royalty and of worthies of the company, two being painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller. Happily, all the old deeds, charters, and documents were saved at the Great Fire, and these add greatly to the history of this important company.

Skinners' Hall was not so fortunate, and a new one was erected, thus described in 1708: "a noble structure built with fine bricks and richly furnished, the hall with right wainscot, and the great parlour with odoriferous cedar." It has been much altered, a new front being added in 1791, and redecorated a hundred years later. The company can boast of many noble and distinguished members, amongst whom we find Edward III. and his Queen, the Black Prince, Richard II. and his Queen, Henry IV., Henry V., Henry VI., Edward IV., and their Royal consorts.

Haberdashers' Hall is modern, built in 1864 on a site bequeathed to the company by William Bacon in 1478, but the court room was erected by Wren after the Great Fire, and has a fine ceiling. Salters' Hall--they have had no less than five--was finished in 1827, and is very magnificent, having a large open space in front, which adds greatly to its imposing appearance. Some pictures were saved at the Great Fire, and there are two fine paintings of Queen Charlotte and George III. by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Ironmongers' Hall, spared by the Great Fire, was pulled down in 1903, and a new hall, we believe, is in course of erection.

The Vintners have a very interesting hall, built partly on the foundations of the old hall destroyed in 1666, and very rich in its treasures: its beautiful carvings by Grinling Gibbons, its ancient tapestry, hearse-cloth, portraits, and valuable store of plate. Pepys tells of the destruction of Clothworkers' Hall. He wrote, "But strange it is to see Clothworkers' Hall on fire these three days and nights in one body of flame, it having two cellars full of oil." After that mighty destruction a new hall arose, worthy of the greatness of the company, the present great hall itself being added in 1859, a noble building lighted by fine windows containing the arms of distinguished members. Pepys was master of the company in 1677, and presented a loving cup, which is still amongst the company's treasures.

It is impossible in this brief survey of the Livery Companies to include a description of the halls of the minor companies, some of which are very fine and interesting. It has been my privilege to visit nearly all of these ancient edifices, and to inspect many of their records and valuable treasures. These I have tried to describe in my larger work on the history of the companies. No volume relating to London would, however, be complete without some reference to the ancient state and glories of these venerable institutions, which, in spite of many vicissitudes, much oppression, heavy losses and crushing calamities, have survived to the present day, and continue their useful careers for the benefit of the present generation of men. The story of the Livery Companies furnishes wonderful examples of the tenacity of the national character of Englishmen, of their firm determination to overcome difficulties, and of their resolution to hand down to their successors the traditions which they have received from a great and historic past.

FOOTNOTES:

[154] A full account of the history of each hall, its description and treasures, is contained in my book on _The City Companies of London and their Good Works_ (Dent & Co.), with illustrations by A. R. Quinton, and reproductions of old pictures, tapestry, and plate.

LONDON AND THE HANSEATIC LEAGUE

BY J. TAVENOR-PERRY

A remarkable episode in the early history of London, and an element in its making, which through the Middle Ages exercised an important and beneficial influence on its progress and growth, was the settlement of foreign merchants, who, at first as individuals, and later under the control of the Hanseatic League, made it one of the principal trading centres of Northern Europe; and no account of mediæval London would be complete which omitted a reference to the part played by these German and Flemish adventurers. Although it was not until the middle of the twelfth century that the League reached that complete organization which made it for some centuries a great northern power, the trading communities of Germany early acquired some sort of cohesion; and we find them established in London as early as the reign of Ethelred II. The encouragement this Saxon King afforded them was doubtless due to the fact that they were able to offer him the money of which he always stood in need, in return for the privileges he was able to confer on them; and he may have felt that he could always rely on their active support against their common enemy--the Danes. But these first merchants were few and unorganized, and although as time went on they increased in number and importance, it was not until the League itself had become a power that, in the reign of Henry III., they obtained a recognized corporate existence.

The foundations of this originally peaceful confederacy were, curiously enough, laid in war, and that of the baser sort--war for the sake of pillage. The Vikings, finding themselves unable to realize the spoil with which they were sometimes gorged, conceived the idea of founding a market-place to which, by assurances of safety and immunity from further theft, they could induce peaceful merchants to attend and receive, and pay for, the goods which they had stolen. Such was the now vanished town of Jomsborg which Pálnátoki, the Jarl of Fjon, founded about 950 in the country of the Wends, near the mouth of the Oder. This town was intended to be an abode of peace, where not only could the merchants reside in safety, but to which the Viking Jarls, fighting elsewhere between themselves, might resort to exchange the results of their raids. And this city gradually became not only the market for the goods which the sea-rovers gathered from sacked cities and ruined monasteries, but also the emporium of the merchandise of the East, which reached the Baltic from Byzantium by the Euxine and the Dnieper. It was in this Viking market town that the first German merchants established among themselves that association which eventually grew to be the most important trading community of the Middle Ages.