21 



they gave an air of animation and life which would strongly 

 contrast with the dulness by which they were preceded and fol- 

 lowed. In the reign of Edward III., Colchester contained 359 

 houses, some built of mud, others of timber, and none having 

 any but latticed windows, and yet there were only about nine 

 towns in England of greater importance. The number of inha- 

 bitants was about 3000. Colchester was the centre of resort for 

 a large district, and the trades carried on in it were the 29 fol- 

 lowing : — Baker, Barber, Blacksmith, Bowyer, Brewer, Butcher, 

 Carpenter, Carter, Cobbler, Cook, Dyer, Fisherman, Fuller, 

 Furrier, Girdler, Glass-seller, Glover, Linen-draper, Mercer, 

 and Spice-seller, Mustard and Vinegar-seller, Old Clothes- 

 seller, Tailor, Tanner, Tiler, "Weaver, Wood-cutter, and Wool- 

 comber." ' As the whole of the information which the work 

 contains on this particular subject, is comprised in the passage 

 I have quoted, it may be assumed that none other could be got, 

 and consequently that the state of Colchester as here described 

 is given as a fair specimen of the general condition of provincial 

 towns in England in the 14th century. Whether York were 

 one of the " nine towns of greater importance," adverted to by 

 the writer, is left to conjecture. But surely no doubt can be 

 entertained that the condition of the metropolis of the North 

 was then incomparably superior to that of the capital of the 

 county of Essex. The twenty-nine trades of Colchester dwindle 

 into insignificance, when contrasted with the long list of trades, 

 occupations, and professions existing in York during the reign 

 of Edward III. These amount to the surprising number of one 

 hundred and eighty, including among them all the incorporated 

 trades or mysteries of London, of which there were thirty-six 

 prior to the year 1376, when they were increased to forty-eight. 

 This fact appears still more remarkable when we find from the 

 census of 1831 that the whole number of the trades and pro- 

 fessions of York in the early part of the 19th century was only 

 one hundred and twenty-two. It is also stated in the * Pictorial 



* Pictorial Hist. I. 841. Most of these facts respecting Colchester, are gathered 

 from the Taxation Bolls of the 2ith and 29tb Edward I., printed in Bot Pari. I. 

 245. et postea. 



