A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



Jewry, though they seem to hare preferred the 

 northern and western parts of the town. 



There is no clear reference to any craft organisation 

 till the 1 5th century, though the 13th century custumal 

 refers to master butchers,*' and the expression 

 bachelerie de Northampton has been interpreted to 

 mean associations of journeymen,^ the economic 

 equivalent of the political bachehria. The economic 

 regulations of the 13th century custumal show the 

 prepositura as the authority regulating primarily 

 conditions of buying and selUng,^^ but also, in the case 

 of weavers, dyers and butchers, the quaUty of the 

 goods offered for sale. The butcher pays a fee to the 

 town, ' as he used to do to his peers,' for the right to 

 become a master.^^ ^^^ when in the 15th century 

 the town records begin, it is noteworthy that the town 

 government takes the initiative, in one instance at 

 least, in forming a ciaft gild, and keeps throughout a 

 controlling hand on the regulations of the crafts, both 

 assisting in drafting the rules, swearing in the wardens 

 and demanding reports from them, and enrolling the 

 constitutions in the town records. In these craft 

 ordinances the textile industries are still prominent. 

 In 1427 the shearmen are commanded to organise 

 themselves under two wardens, who are to inspect the 

 quality of the work and report to the mayor.^' The 

 existence of turbulent organisations of journeymen is 

 indicated in the regulations for the weavers' craft in 

 1432,^ which are designed to put an end to ' many and 

 dyverse unlittyng contestes and debates . . . which have 

 long tyme regned in the Crafte of Englisshe wevers of 

 Norhampton bitwene the Maistirs and the jorneymen 

 of the seide crafte.' The ordinances of 1432 refer 

 to old-estabhshed customs such as the Easter proces- 

 sion to St. Mary de la Pre outside the town, and the 

 ' customable drinking ' that followed the offering of 

 wax tapers there, and further illustrate the cleavage 

 within the craft by the prohibition of ' confederacyes, 

 conventicles and gederyngs.' Supplementary regula- 

 tions of the weavers' craft were passed in 1439, 1441, 

 1448*' and 1462, when a six years' apprenticesliip 

 was provided for, and a supervision of the hcensing of 

 new weavers by the warden of the craft, acting with 

 two of the Twenty Four comburgesses.^' In 151 1 

 the inspection of cloths by the ' searchers ' was further 

 regulated." The formation of the Tailors' Craft Gild 

 in 1444-5 '5 of great interest : the industry was so 

 important to the town as a whole that the town 

 government took the initiative and compelled the 

 tailors to accept a constitution. ' Full many gentil- 

 men and other people of oure lorde the Kynge for 

 the shapyng of theire clothyng and of their servauntcs 

 and of theire lyvcreys daylycomen to the same town. 

 Ncverthcles noo Rule ne order put nc is in the said 

 Crafte bctwene thartificers and mynystres of the 

 scido Crafte. . . . Wherefore the seide gentilmen . . . 

 oft tymes for unhable shapyng . . . aren . . . dis- 



seived to her prejudice and also sclaunder and detri- 

 ment I.O the saide toun. And therefore the saide 

 Maire and his Comburgeis by the comyn Assent of 

 the seide toun wyllen in the saide Crafte ordynaunce 

 and good Rule be putt.'^^ By this constitution 

 overseers were set up, with power to correct and to 

 call meetings of the craft. The town assembly con- 

 firmed the regulations for tailors and woollen drapers 

 jointly in 1588.^' In 1452 the fullers' cr.ift was 

 organised on similar Unes,*" further regulations being 

 added in 1464, 15 1 1 and 1585.'! In hke manner, 

 constitutions or regulations were made for the cor- 

 visers and cordwainers in 1401 and 1452,*^ the shoe- 

 makers in 1552,** the glovers in 1594;** the whit- 

 tawyers and tanners in 1566 and 1582;** the bakers in 

 1467, 1518, 1545 and 1553;^ the butchers in 1505,' 

 1558, and 1568;*' the fishmongers in 1467 and 

 1574;*^ the innkeepers in 1383, 1568 and 1570;** 

 the brewers in 1545,'" the carpenters in 1430;"- 

 the slaters in 1509 ;''^ whilst in 1562 the ironmongers' 

 constitution was cancelled.'^ All these regulations are 

 duly enrolled in the Liher Custumarum or, after 1553, 

 the Assembly Books. In 1574 a number of unorganised 

 trades — mercers, haberdashers, linendrapers, grocers, 

 apothecaries, upholsterers, salters and tryers of honey 

 and wax — were ordered to meet at St. Katharine's 

 Hall in the last week of October and choose themselves 

 wardens, with various other regulations to bring them 

 into line with the other tradesmen.'* In all these 

 constitutions, drafted by the mayor and the craftsmen 

 jointly, the craftsmen elect their own wardens or 

 searchers, who are sworn in before the mayor at the 

 guildhall on the court day.'* Regular fees are pay- 

 able to the town chamber and fines for breaches of 

 the regulations are divided between the craft and the 

 town. Many of the crafts with constitutions used 

 to meet, as we have seen, in the hall over the great 

 Conduit in the m.irket place. The fullers and slaters 

 used to meet at the Black Friars' House,'* the shear- 

 men and the shoemakers at the White Friars." After 

 the Dissolution the shoemakers used to meet in 

 St. George's Hall.'* 



Some indication of the comparative importance of 

 different trades in the town is given by the lists of 

 town bailiffs between 1386 and 1461," in which in 

 many instances, their crafts are named. Nineteen 

 bailiffs were mercers, eleven drapers, eight dyers, 

 six fullers, six hosiers, two weavers, and two woolmen. 

 There were eight bakers and six fishmongers ; five 

 glovers and five ironmongers. Other evidence sug- 

 gests that Northampton continued to be of some 

 importance as a clothing centre. There are frequent 

 references to the fullers and their tenters in the Assem- 

 bly Books from 1550 to 1630.** The Privy Council 

 notes in 1577 that merchants of Norwich, London and 

 Northampton are in the liabit of buying and selling 

 wool at Northampton, driving up the price, to the 



•• Douce MS. (Bodl. Lib.), 98, fo. 162 

 (d. 27). 



" Hiitory Teacbtri' Miuellany, v, 31. 



•' E.g. : purchaic of a ttall (d. 3, 11), 

 freeman'i iharc in bargain! (cl. 4), forc- 

 italling and regrating (cl. 5, 7, 9, 16, 21), 

 wcighli and mcaiurci (cl. 6, 13), tale of 

 woad (cl. 31, 39). 



•• Cuitumal cl. 27. 



•• BoTO. Rec. i, 356-8. 



»• Ibid. 268-72. 



•• Ibid. 272-4. " Ibid. 298-9. 



" Ibid. 331. 



•' Ibid. 265 J cf. 278-82. 



" Ibid, ii, 295. •» Ibid, i, 290-4. 



" Ibid. 302, 332; ii, 288. 



" Ibid. 245, 294. 



•■ Ibid, ii, 293. 



•' Ibid. 2S9. " Ibid. 295-7. 



"Ibid, i, 309, 333, 380; ii, 278. 



" Ibid. 334; ii, 280. 



•• Ibid. 307 ; ii, 286. 



" Ibid. 249 ; ii, 295-7. 



"> Ibid. 352. 



28 



" Ibid. 237. 



" Ibid. 329. " Ibid, ii, 290. 



'* Ibid. 276-8. 



" The oaths of the w.irdcns and scarch- 

 cri of the crafts arc enrolled in the Liber 

 Ciistumaruni, Uoro, lice, i, 394-397, 

 including one for the chandlers, whose 

 constitution is not enrolled. 



'• Boto. Rcc. i, 291, 330. 



" Ibid, i, 356; ii, 183. 



'•Ibid, ii, 181-5. 



'• Ibid. 556-8. •« Ibid. 217-8. 



