History of the Company. 9 



The earliest historical incidents connected 



with the Saddlers' Company are, for the reason set 



forth in the Preface, mostly derived 



Ancient Articles from the archives of the Corpora- 



of the Saddlers ^Jon. The Citv Archives contain 



and J omers. ^ _ J 



Arbitration be- an Interesting record in the year 



tween the crafts. , ^^ ^ TT\ri 



1309 (temp. JKdw. 11.) ot the early 

 ordinances of the Saddlers and Fusters or Joiners 

 of London, which, while they give some interest- 

 ing Information touching the saddlery trade at 

 that early period, also throw a curious light 

 upon the relationship of the two crafts. The 

 ordinances in question recite that much damage 

 was happening daily unto the great lords and 

 people of the land by reason of the deceits 

 employed in the making of saddles. The Saddlers 

 of London, when charged with the spuriousness 

 of their goods, were in the habit of transferring 

 the blame to the Joiners, whose particular and 

 apparently exclusive function, we learn from the 

 same source, was the manufacture of the saddle- 

 bows. Matters reaching a crisis, the two crafts 

 assembled before the Lord Mayor, Sir John le 

 Blound (or Blount), and the Aldermen on the 

 Monday following the octave of St. Michael, and 

 prayed that the ordinances of the mystery of the 

 Joiners in use in the time of their ancestors might 

 be renewed, and that six members of the mystery 

 should be empowered to search and stamp all 

 goods belonging to the craft with a hall mark. 

 The ordinances set forth that naughty apprentices 

 who had run away from their masters, with other 



