THE DERBY COMPANY OF MERCERS. II5 



He gives amongst others the following examples: — "In 1616 

 the Mercers' Company of Faversham was established by the 

 Corporation. No person not free of the Company was to trade 

 in the Town. Fellowship was not to interfere with the govern- 

 ment of the Town, but only to deal with trade. This was 

 confirmed by the justices of assize for Kent. Fifty-two trades 

 were included in the Company. 



" At Wallingford, all trades within the Borough were to consist 

 of one body, to be called the Company of Drapers. 



" In some places where the crafts were not numerous, the 

 Company of Mercers included both general dealers and such as 

 traded only in one kind of ware. In larger towns, as in London, 

 production was so extensive, and subdivision of occupation so 

 great, that there was no Company of Merchants at all, but 

 Grocers, Mercers, Drapers, etc., had their separate associations . . . 

 These Companies were not very numerous, and their organisation 

 differed very much in different places." 



This introduction, for which I am mainly indebted to Dr, 

 Gross' book, and from which I have largely quoted in the 

 preceding pages, will enable us to understand the exact position 

 of the Derby Company of Mercers. 



Derby is poor in municipal records, owing to the fire which 

 burnt down the Town Hall in the early part of this century. 



I believe the only records relating to the Mercers' Company 

 are those in the possession of my father, Mr. H. H. Bemrose, 

 which he has lent me for the purpose of writing this paper. 

 They were given to him more than thirty years ago by the late 

 Mr. John Sandars (Mayor 1839-40), together with several other 

 papers of interest relating to Derbyshire. Mr, Sandars had kept 

 them in a desk in the Moot hall, used by him as a warehouse. 



The minute book was lent for a short time to the late Mr. 

 LI. Jewitt, who gave a few extracts from it in his articles on 

 "Derbyshire Tokens," and on "Public-house Signs in Derby."* 

 Beyond these, and a mention of the existence of the Charter and 

 Company in Appendix I. to the Derby Corporation Act, 1877, 



* See " The^^Reliquary." 



