280 Textiles and Textile Materials Trades 



ject to the president, treasurer and governors of Christ's Hospital. 

 These officers kept a register of the factors, of the owners and of the 

 buyers and sellers of the cloths that were sold from time to time. This 

 was done so that the clothiers would be satisfied how their cloth was 

 disposed of. Special care was required of them to prevent any non- 

 resident from buying in the Hall. A monthly report was made to 

 the Hospital of the factors dealing in the Hall and of any offenses they 

 might have committed. Besides the Hospital appointed a Board of 

 six members whose office it was to inquire into offenses thus committed 

 and to report them to its general court, and all fines levied were paid 

 into its treasury. 



It was required of all non-freemen to bring all cloth of specified 

 kinds to this and the Welch Hall, and other specified kinds to Leaden 

 Hall. Those to Blackwell Hall included twenty specified kinds "and 

 all other commodities and manufactures made or mixed with Wool, 

 Worsted, Jersey, or Cruel or with Cotton- Wool, or either or any of 

 them." These were to be pitched in the Hall and not removed for 

 sale into any other place out of the City till after three market days, 

 allowing certain exceptions such as that they were sold meanwhile, 

 during the three days, or that they had been bought by a merchant 

 or draper by pre-contract with the clothier before they were brought 

 to the Hall, or that they were small parcels contracted for in the coun- 

 try for private use and not for resale, or that they had received damage 

 upon the road and needed redressing to fit them for sale. 



The clothiers or factors paid for "pitching" and "hallage" certain 

 rates per piece of cloth, varying with the kind of cloth. After the 

 first week they had also to pay a charge for "resting." For conven- 

 ience each factor had a "Rest," or certain number for which he paid 

 regularly, whether his cjuota was pitched in full or not. All these 

 charges went to the benefit of Christ's Hospital and amounted to a 

 considerable sum, for instance in 1708 they were reckoned at £1100.^ 



Connected with the Hall was a special company of Porters to whom 

 was given a monopoly of carrying the cloths out of these Halls or 

 adjoining rooms; a schedule of prices for the porterage of each kind 

 of cloth was publicly posted in each Hall and no higher charges were 

 allowed. 



Blackwell Hall was, therefore, the receiving and distributing point 

 for the cloth of the Kingdom. Thither the clothier brought his cloths 

 in person, and sold them in person, or by factors after 1660. Deloney 



' Wheatley and Cunningham, London, I, 92. 



